and savannah guthrie live from live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie. that storm is impacting a big part of the east coast right now, and depending on where you live, you could see rain to heavy snow or perhaps that mix of both. >> classes have been canceled here in the northeast as that winter weather moves on through. we'll have more on that storm straight ahead. >> there is also new fallout this morning from lance armstrong's confession that he used performance-enhancing drugs. coming up, what the world anti-doping agency says it will demand before it even considers letting armstrong return to competitive sports. a lot of people say that was the motivation for his confession. we're going to talk a little about a fun fact during this severe flu season. did you know the virus can last about eight hours on a surface.

this morning we'll tell you what you should avoid touching and we'll conduct a little experiment here in studio 1a to see how many people touch the doorknob coming in our studio in a single morning. and ryan seacrest is here, and he better watch his personal items because he's going to help us out on a segment about the best pick pockets in the world. >> have you ever been pick pocketed? >> no. >> it's awful. >> dylan, good morning to you. >> good morning to you. yes, this is a big storm in that it extends from northern new england all the way down into the gulf of mexico and in areas like worcester, we are seeing the snow continuing to fall where he duwith reduced visibility and schools shut down in that area. but then look back into western virginia. that's where we have winter storm watches, but it's the ice storm warnings and the freezing rain advisories extending back into portions of tennessee and into mississippi as well. you can see the pink on the map

there on the radar. we are still seeing freezing rain. it makes the roads very slippery, and driving conditions are treacherous in that area. then it transitions over into snow. it's coming down pretty heavily up through boston, stretching right back into providence, rhode island. lighter outside of 495 in that area, but it is still making a mess of the roadways, and we are looking within 24 hours to see about 3 to 6 inches in that a a area. the lighter shade of blue there is a 24-hour snow total, and everywhere else across the northeast basically from northern maine right down to northern pennsylvania, even northern new jersey, we are looking for about 1 to 3 inches. so it is going to be a very slippery morning commute all across the northeast. sa vvanna savannah? >> thank you. president obama will unveil his new recommendations for gun control this morning in the tragedy of newtown, connecticut. and the national rifle association is already taking the president on with an ad that gets very personal. chuck todd is the chief white

house correspondent and political director. chuck, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. the president will be unveiling what one person tells nbc news is a surprising new set of proposals intended to curb gun violence and it's going to kick off a political fight. before the president has even had a chance to unveil those bold proposals, the nra is signalling it intends to fight the president, and choosing this new web video that hits close to home, targeting his daughters. here's a clip. >> are the president's kids more important than yours? then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school? >> so while the nra is hitting the president on one proposal, he is not endorsing armed guards at schools. the president is set to unveil a laundry list of plans that one activist said if made law would be one of the most sweeping gun reforms since 1968 which followed the public outcry after the assassinations of bobby

kennedy and martin luther king, jr. >> these tragedies must end. and to end them, we must change. >> fulfilling a promise he made one month ago in newtown, connecticut, president obama will unveil a series of proposals today to curb gun violence. >> the president has made clear he intends to take a comprehensive approach. >> sources familiar with the president's plan tells nbc news he will ask congress to pass significant reforms, including universal background checks on gun buyers anywhere, including at gun shows. a crackdown on gun trafficking, imposing harsher penalties on gun sellers who fail to perform background checks, targeting those folks who sell multiple guns to potential felons. a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. and it pushed for a renewed assault weapons ban. those policies will likely spark a heated political debate in washington, but it's a debate the white house is signalling it's ready for. including an audience of children from around the country

who wrote the president letters about gun violence after newtown. the white house released some of those letters late tuesday. it's been nearly 20 years since washington last made a serious attempt to put new restrictions on gun ownership. >> today, at last, the waiting ends. >> while president clinton was successful in getting an assault weapons ban passed in 1994, clinton recalled how democratic leaders feared the ban would cost them control of congress, writing in his book, if we made them walk the plank, many democrats who voted for it would not survive the election in noe november. democrats' fears were realized that year. this time democrats said they'll proceed carefully. >> we're going to try to get something passed in the house. i'm not going through these gyrations just to say we've done something. >> they're not looking for new laws out of washington, they're looking for more involvement in their communities and families at the state level. >> two democratic leaders are

going beyond what president obama is likely to propose. government mark o'malley says he'll push for tighter gun laws in his state. and in new york, governor cuomo signed a sweeping gun bill into law on tuesday that was blasted, saying it will have no impact on public safety and crime. >> besides those new laws he wants congress to pass, he will announce some executive actions, including telling his justice department to go after those folks who failed background checks criminally go after and prosecute those people. >> you started, chuck, by saying this is sort of a once in a generation type of proposal in terms of its sweep. that's because the politics are so hard, as you just outlined. is there anything that's changed in terms of the dynamic that makes this more likely to pass? >> well, it depends on how they go about the order with which they try to get these proposals passed. if the assault weapons ban is the lead, i've had plenty of democrats tell me, then any new

gun control measures, the whole thing will die. if they go after, say, and go in an order that says universal background checks, that on that front, the closing the gun show loophole, things like that, that that actually has a shot at some bipartisan support. so it really depends, savannah, on how this proceeds in congress, and we know sometimes congress can act in very mysterious ways. >> indeed. chuck todd in washington, thank you. here's matt. thanks. let's go back to that scary scene in london this morning. a helicopter hit a crane and then plummeted to the ground in a fiery happy. michelle, what can you tell us? >> reporter: this happened during rush hour in a very busy part of central lan r london. a commercial helicopter carrying at least two passengers hit a tower here, hitting part of that

crane, ending in a fireball, killing that pilot and landing on top of a car that was also inflamed. we know that one person was rescued from a burning car. another eyewitness said she just left the train station and was looking at the top of the buildings, marveling that in the fog you couldn't see them at all. at that moment she heard an explosion like a bomb, terrifying people in the area, and then what looked like a meteor shower with debris raining down. the helicopter might have been trying to land because of the fog, trying to get to safety. at least nine people were hurt, one critically, and part of the investigation is whether the light on top of that crane was working. matt? >> all right, michelle kozinski in london on that story this morning. michelle, thank you very much. savannah? boeing is dealing with another problem this morning linked to its 787 so-called dreamliner.

japan's two airlines have now grounded their planes when it was force to do make an emergency landing last night. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, savannah. the captain of this nippon airways thought he smelled smoke in the cockpit. he ordered the plane down and ordered everyone off the plane. these problems do seem serious for boeing. it's the second time in a week that firefighters have been called to deal with a 787 emergency. japan's top two airlines now grounding their boeing 787 dreamliners after one of them made an emergency landing earlier today with battery problems and a burning smell in the cockpit. a japanese official describes the incident as highly serious, suggesting there could have been an accident. this is the first grounding for the new 787, but it's just the latest in a string of embarrassments for boeing's state of the art aircraft. last week the ara said it would conduct a thorough review of the 787, its mechanical, power and

battery systems. >> we will look for the root causes of recent events and do everything we can to ensure these events don't happen again. >> reporter: the events have been mounting. last week a japanese airline 787 had to turn back to the gate after a fuel leak in boston spilled 40 gallons onto the runway. and a fire in the belly of another japanese 787 was traced to an auxiliary power unit lithium battery pack. in december a united 787 made an emergency landing in new orleans with an electrical problem. also in december, a katar airways plane grounded for a similar incident. during a test flight two years ago, a fire caused a landing, and they determined a short caused the fire. now boeing says the plane is safe. >> in short, we have complete confidence in the 787, and so do our customers. >> reporter: since entering service in october of 2011, the 787 has logged more than 50,000

hours of flight, carrying more than a million passengers. while eight airlines fly the plane worldwide in the u.s., only united is flying it. >> there are going to be teething problems with a new airplane. it's quite common. >> reporter: while they may only be teething problems, they've also started to add up to a real pr problem. >> it could be we reach a certain point where both airlines and the traveling public begin to adopt a wait and see attitude to wait for this jet liner to mature. >> reporter: the faa says it will include this latest incident in japan into its investigation of what's happening with the 787. why are these so many incidents involving carriers owned by the japanese? it could be because the two biggest carriers in japan were the first to place large orders for the 787, and they've been among the first to fly the plane in big numbers. savannah? >> tom costello if washington, thank you. here's matt. lance armstrong may finally be coming clean about his use of

performance-enhancing drugs, but his confession may not be enough to reduce his lifetime ban from competitive sports. nbc's ann thompson is here with the latest fallout on this story. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. the anti-doping agency says if armstrong wants to return to elite competitive sports, he has to tell the truth under oath before that process can even start. and that is what one of his fiercest critics wants as well, the absolute truth. she went from friend to foe. the effect betsy andreas says that performance-enhancing drugs had on her relationship with lance armstrong. >> my husband, his teammate, rode the 2000 tour clean. what was his reward from lance? not getting his tour bonus and getting fired off the team. >> reporter: relentless on the bike, andreas says armstrong was just as relentless off the bike, going after her, her husband and anyone who claimed they knew armstrong doped. >> for the past decade, i have

been a public target along with my husband. to the point where it seemed i was defending myself on a daily basis from smears and attacks. that would happen. >> armstrong confessed to doping in his interview with oprah winfrey. a source with knowledge of the interview describes it as awkward and tense. bicycling magazine editor at large bill strickland spoke to armstrong after the taping. >> he admits that he doped. he takes responsibility for it and says that it's his choice. doesn't try to blame anyone for getting him into it. i think the lying and some of the acts, you know, just some of the ugly acts of intimidation, i think addressing those things for him seemed, in a way, harder than admitting to the doping. >> in the interview, strickland

says armstrong talks about apologizing to those he went after for claiming he doped. armstrong also talks about telling the truth to his five children. >> anyone that's a parent knows your kids can be a motivating factor for coming around and doing the right thing. >> reporter: armstrong's admission is just the latest blow in a sport still reeling from its drug-riddleed past. when armstrong's seven tour victories were vacated last year, the governing body declined to award the other riders. during armstrong's rein, the wins were linked to doping. redemption for armstrong will take more than words. >> words are more empty than actions, so i truly hope if he's sorry, he will tell the whole, una dult rated truth and be 100% trans parent. >> this morning the livestrong foundation is issuing its first

statement since armstrong's interview. it raeeads in part, we expect lance to be completely truthful and forthcoming in his interview and with all of us in the cancer community. we expect we will have more at that time. and matt, it is charting an independent course that it is going to survive after this. >> ann thompson on this story. by the way, livestrong's ceo doug ulman will join us for an exclusive live interview. that's coming up this friday morning right here on "today." natalie morales is at the news desk. natalie, good morning to you. >> good morning to you. more gun violence to report even as weapons control is at the political forefront today. in kentucky a gunman killed two people and wound aid teenage girl in the parking lot of a community college. one man has been questioned as a suspect there. and in st. louis, a part-time student shot an administrator at the business school he attended before turning the gun on himself. both are expected to survive. a $50 billion emergency aid package for victims of

superstorm sandy is heading to the senate. the house approved the bill on tuesday, and officials say the senate is likely to give it the green light next week. new york lawmakers say the funds will help storm victims get their lives back on track. wall street's mary thompson is at the stock exchange for us. good morning, mary. >> good morning. the wall street is on an up streak. the dow transportation average sat an all-time high. there is one stock not participating, though. that's apple, shares dropping to an 11-month low on continued concerns about slowing demand for the company's products. lastly, the world bank cutting its outlook for global growth this year, citing austerity measures high in employment and weak economies. back to you. >> mary thompson of the new york stock exchange. thank you. what is more incredible than a spectator at a basketball game sinking a half-court shot? check out what happened when atlanta hawk fan kevin went for the thousand dollar prize at

half time. as you see, the ball got wedged there right between the backboard and the rim. kevin, though, did win the thousand dollars because the shot was so unbelievable, and technically the ball did make it into the basket when a hawk staffer then yanked on the net. >> go back to the beginning of that. technically, savannah just pointed out he shouldn't have gotten the money because he stepped over the line at half-court. watch closely. there, right there. i would have given it to him, savannah. >> i think we all know that i would have given it to him. just for showing up, i would have given him the thousand bucks. let's get to dylan dryer who is in for al. what a mess on the east coast this morning. >> such a mess. commuters dealing with rain, ice, sleet. we have snow across new england. it is going to be messy throughout the day and that rain is going to continue to affect the east coast into tomorrow. we also had some snow showers in the western great lakes, up into the northern plains, into the dakotas, but it's not near as

much snow as the northeast where we can pick up 3 to 6 inches. we'll get your local weather after this message. when you file your taxes. i read the whole 900 pages. it literally took me weeks. i will give you a tax and health care review. i know the law. i have the solution... and i can help you figure it out. we're going to see this through together. >> announcer: "today in the bay" weather is sponsored by bank of the west. >> 7:19 on wednesday morning. good morning. i'm christina loren. it's another cold start to the day. temperatures in the 20s and 30st. 28 in concord. 28 degrees in santa rosa to start. we are headed to the 60s. upper 50s bay side and at the coast today. we'll see temperatures climb as

we progress through the end of the week. up to 68 degrees by the weekend. santa cruz getting warmer than that. mid 70s possible sunday. and that's your latest forecast, guys. >> dylan, thank you very much. crash course on what you should try to avoid touching as we enter the peak of this nasty flu season. ryan seacrest up early, live in our studio. first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, one of the world's greatest pick pockets puts our guys to the test. >> that's mine. and identical twins who married identical twins and one of them had identical twins of their own. but first your local news and a check of your weather forecast. ♪

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>> announcer: you're watching "today in the bay." >> good morning, everybody. it's 7:26. i'm john kelly. we want to take you to portland. we have been covering a bizarre rescue scene at a parking garage. a cinder block wall. a foot space between the wall and parking garage. a woman at 3:30 this morning dropped and fell 15 to 20 feet. she's stuck dangling four feet above the ground. rescue crews have been there since 3:30 trying to get her out. you can see her arm. they finally got close enough to get to her. they handed her water moments ago. this is a long drawn out scene. at 3:30 this morning neighbors heard a woman screaming. they called 911. they have been on scene trying to free her up. they are close now. you can see trying to get her

out. she had a flannel shirt on as police workers try to pull her out. we'll keep you updated. good progress there as they try to get her out. now let's check on the wednesday forecast. christina loren has sunny skies and crisp temperatures. >> a good-looking day shaping up. a live look at a clear start over san jose. it's hazy this morning. temperatures are cold. 3 is degrees in livermore. 32 in san jose. upper 50s and low 60s. warmer into the upcoming weekend. let's check the drive with mike. >> 101 doing better. look at the south bay map. we have a great recovery for 101 and 280 after the earlier crash north of here where we had an accident around the 880 interchange with 101. 85, 280 and 237 still worse because of a series of accidents coming to sunniville and the westbound commute direction backed up to sunniville. live look shows you a look at south 680. a second accident causing slow

downs now out of pleasanton. it's slow into fremont. back to you. >> thank you very much. we have been updating the story in oregon. a woman stuck between two walls. they are close to getter her out. have a great day. see you in a half hour.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 16th of january, 2013. take a look at that. it is a white morning in worcester, mass, storm dumping sleet, rain and snow from the deep south all the way up to mai maine. >> icy sidewalks here in new york. it really is a mess out. >> slushy, but nice and warm inside studio 1a. i'm savannah guthrie, alongside matt lauer. facebok's move that's part google, part match.com. founder mark zuckerberg says it's the coolest thing that facebook has done in a long time. investors didn't seem to like it. we'll find out more about it. the corvette stingray is back. it's on our plaza. we are going to take a test drive. then a family probably like no other. one set of identical twins who

marry another set of identical twins and then one of the couples -- wait for it -- yes, had a set of identical twins themselves. confused? imagine how their neighbors feel. they all live right next door to each other. and now you see it, now you don't. that is professional pick pocket apollo robbins, robbing ryan seacrest live right in front of your eyes, the gentleman thief. how he pulls off his amazing theft and it's good information. at least it can help protect you against getting rip ped off on the street. he got him. i knew he would get him. this time it's the animal rights group that has to pay up, kerry sanders joins us from miami. kerry, explain it for us. >> reporter: good morning, matt. for 12 years, the ringling brothers barnum & bailey circus

has faced accusations in court that these elephants were being abused. and now a judge has decided the case has no merit and the aspca has agreed to pay the circus millions dollars for ever filing the lawsuit in the first place. when the circus comes to town there's usually a parade for fans. but animal rights activists have accused the circus of abusing the elephants. they claimed ringling brothers and barnum & bailey routine hit the elephants with sharp bull hooks and chaining them for long periods of time. and they claimed an inside source with proof, a former ringling employee by the name of tom ryder. he shared those allegations with "today" almost four years ago.

>> and the bull hook starts breaking the skin and then they're bleeding. >> reporter: but now a federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit and in an unusual turn about, the aspca had to pay ringling a settlement of $9.3 million. >> they dragged my family, our company, all of our people that dedicate their lives to these animals, through really 12 years of misery under false pretenses. >> so do you come out victorious here? >> i think it is a level of vindication because the untruths are now out there, and i think people can judge for themselves what happened. >> reporter: the lawsuit was tossed, in part, because that inside source, tom ryder, was paid more than $190,000 by animal rights groups. his testimony, the judge said, is not credible. the aspca declined to discuss

specifics but in a statement said it was in the best interest of the organization to resolve this expensive, protracted litigation. at its center for elephant conservation in florida -- >> how can you not feel good when you see this? piper was born in august this year. >> reporter: ringling breed, feeds and trains these animals. the people who work here say they're saving elephants, not harming them, as the lawsuit had claimed. >> for them it's never been about the elephants. for us, it's always and only been about the elephants. >> reporter: the aspca raises its money through tax deductible donations. with this payment, one of about every $10 in its budget will go to the ringling circus. their fight does not end here. they're working with the los

angeles city council where animal rights activists are pressuring a new ordinance that would ban any circuses from performing in the city if they have performing elephants. matt? >> wow! all right, kerry sanders on this story in miami. thank you very much. in the wake of a tragic death of a rape victim there, sparked an international conversation about the treatment of women and the threat of so-called honor violence. ian williams is in new delhi. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, s savannah. one month on in this horrific gang rape and murder has not only provoked outrage here but cast a sharp spotlight on the wider issue, of how india treats its women and girls. angry protests continue to demand justice, but also a broader respect for women's rights. >> it has become a political question, probably for the first time in our history. >> reporter: we were guided down crowded backstreets of old delhi

to face young couples in hiding, protected by an organization called the love commandos. >> put the lives of these kids at risk. our aim is to save these kids. >> reporter: relatives of norin, a muslim, threatened to kill her unless she broke off her relationship with this man, a hindu. anything could happen, she told me. they could even kill me. so they fled to one of the string of shelters run by the commandos for young couples in love, who face death threats for defying the traditions of an old india where women have little choice of partner. there are an estimated 1,000 honor killings every year and the commandos have been inundated with pleas for help. as the accused from december's brutal rape and murder face the court, so india is being forced

to confront an epidemic of violence against women, where too often the victim is blamed. young women are flocking to self defense courses. >> i think self defense is necessary for girls in today's time to save ourselves. >> reporter: these young women may have the ability to fend off a physical attack, less so the deeply entrenched attitudes toward women in india. attitudes that would turn parents into would-be killers. this couple recently married at a temple near their shelter. for them, the most important thing is being together, even as virtual fugitives, simply because they fell in love. like so many here, they're hoping that revulsion at decemb december's crime will not only bring justice but also a greater protection and respect for women in india. savannah? >> ian williams in new delhi for us. thank you. let us get a check of the weather from dylan dreyer, who

is in for al. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by advil. make the switch to advil. savannah, we have exactly 50% of our crowd from california and 50% from new york. who do you want to say happy birthday to? >> my grandmother, yum, who is 81, in reading, p.a. >> she watches every morning? >> she does. i thought i would surprise her. >> happy birthday. the entire east coast is seeing a lot of rain. going into tomorrow, we're already talking about our next storm that's moving in here with winter storm watches and flood watches again with it. these storms really contain the rain and the snow. the way this is working out, we're going to see about two to three inches of rain from virginia, right down into northern georgia. on the back side of it, we are looking at a chance of about an inch or so to wrap in w 7:38.

quite a peek out your san francisco window this morning. a beautiful start to the day here. what i can tell e you is temperatures are cold again. we'll end up warmer in most cities than yesterday by one or two degrees. 60 in gilroy. 61 in san jose. 62 in santa cruz. we'll keep on climbing. if you like the warmer weather we have more in story. tomorrow, 62 degrees. 64 by friday. upper 60s and low 70s for the weekend. >> just in time for the end of the hit, i got the umbrella. check your weather any time on weather.com. savannah? >> better late than never, dylan. whether you're at the office or eating out, what not to touch to avoid germs in this flu season. up next, a master pick pocket tries out his moves on matt, willie and ryan. we'll see his tricks right after this. of labor and it's a lot of love. i don't need to go to the gym. my job is my workout.

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all right. watch your wallets, everyone. our next guest is widely considered to be the very best pick pocket in the entire world, apollo robbins is known as the gentleman thief. it's all for fun. is he here from las vegas. apollo, it's good to see you. do you notice how we're -- >> between us. >> you're different than a guy we might run into on the street, not on the plaza, of course, but on the street. what they're doing is illegal. what you're doing is fun. we've been told little about what you're going to be doing. >> if i give you something and i try to steal it back from you. i've noticed some things you

might have. >> do you have a wallet on you right now? >> i do not. >> you don't carry a wallet? >> i don't. >> i actually don't either. >> put this inside your inside jacket pocket for me. that's a harder pocket to steal from. it makes it harder for me to get inside without you at least seeing my face. and we'll give a little bit of cash for you as well. do you have any cash on you right now? >> i'll take your cash, actually, yeah. >> let's do this. if i do this -- two places. this i want to be able to have in reach and put this inside your front pants pocket. a lot of people think that's a safe place to keep things. and then for you, something simple. if you take this pen -- now there's two pieces to a pen. try to keep track of both. >> he gets wallet, i get cash and i get a pen. >> very expensive pen. >> put it inside your jacket. i'll show you kind of how it

works. with me approaching you, i have to get inside your space. to make you comfortable, your eye contact sometimes feels a little bit intensive. but if i break eye contact, i can get in very close. if i keep eye contact, you'll feel it all the way up into your zone. >> right, uh-huh. >> go ahead and step on this side. i'll try this with you. you have your watch that doesn't come out very well, but your belt does. do you still have your belt on at the moment? double-check. you have to watch close for these things. do this for me for a second. do you still have your credit card? >> eye do. >> don't put your hands in frsi your pocket. that's a different show. check out what you do have. >> my credit card. >> you didn't have a whole lot on you. where is the pen you had a while ago? did you put that somewhere safe? that was harder to get to because of the microphone, i believe. where was your wallet at?

inside jacket here? >> yes, it was. >> will you check to see if it's still there? >> it is not there. >> willie? the pen is gone, yes? >> pen is gone, wallet is gone. >> cash? >> cash is gone. >> i have a few things, your credit card, i.d. >> here is my favorite part. >> and your watch, sir. >> i did not notice that. swear to god. >> how did you do that? >> i have something of yours, too. did you feel that? >> i did not. >> do you still have the wallet? >> it feels like i have something. >> open it up. is there something inside? the pen? >> my pen. >> what's unusual about the pen, i had a little bit of extra time. here is the refill for the pen. will you open up the cap for me for a second? is there something inside? >> no, no, no. >> that's the hundred dollar bill. >> my hundred, wow! >> okay. >> is that so much of a piece

that -- so how did you get his watch? >> yeah, the watch blew me away. how did you do that? >> so when stealing something like this, when i draw your attention, there's different ways. during a handshake, you can do this. he feels like the watch is still on. i got it unfastened. it's easy enough for me at this point as i'm reaching across -- >> show the video. we have the slow mo of it actually happening when he did it. >> you were looking at the way it was -- >> wow, look how requestic. >> watch him hold it up behind your head. >> that's why you were laughing at me. i had no idea. >> apollo, that was awesome. >> now i'm nervous every time you touch me. apollo robbins. by the way, give him his underwear back.

up next, ryan will talk about "american idol" and 19, a secret crush turned out to be a mutual attraction.... the westgate cousins went old-school to decide who pays the check... a local book club raved about the cliffhangers in the new crime novel... and some b-f-fs from college joked about looking up old flames on facebook -- all over delicious entrees like our new parmesan crusted steak from our $20 dinner for two. chili's -- more life happens here. to make just about anything delicious. simply add jif chocolate flavored hazelnut spread. whatever you put it on... reaches a whole new level of deliciousness. choosy moms choose jif.

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we are one good-looking family. [ children laugh ] [ female announcer ] eggo waffles. simply delicious. . that's us working with apollo robbins. >> willie's watch gets stolen. >> never felt a thing, did you? >> i didn't realize he was ta t taunting me behind my back. >> he held it up right behind your head. >> notice, i wouldn't get in that shot. >> laughing hysterically and i thought this isn't that funny and meanwhile my watch is being da dangled behind my head. social network unveiled a new feature tuesday called graph search. digital lifestyle contributor mario armstrong is with us via skype to tell us about it. is this a big deal? what's new about it?

>> this is a big deal, sav any and everybody there. this is a big deal. introduced just yesterday. it's all about being able to search within your connections and your friends' connections. so the big thing is most social networks start to die. we remember myspace and a lot of other that is have died. this will make it so that we can search information that we may not see when we're not on facebook live. so, this is a big deal. i'll be able to search my friends' photos. i'll be able to see restaurants that they like or places they've visited. a lot of information i wasn't able to see before. >> mario, any privacy concerns on something like that? >> absolutely there's privacy concerns. the issue is this. they really took a preemptive strike on privacy. they talked about it a lot, matt. big deal here. two things, one, this will open our eyes up to seeing exactly what we share. so what i want people to do right away, when they have this available on your page, search on yourself.

you'll be able to see photos and posts that you placed that maybe you don't want out there and you can have that information removed. >> real quick, mario, how will this make it more competitive like google? >> it doesn't do the same thing go google does. google searches the whole internet. but in the future it could open up beyond that. the deal is, this is a little bit different. i will be able to see specifically, natalie, what you've been doing over the past few years or so. >> that would be an interesting search. mario armstrong, thank you so much. we're out of time. now let's get a check of your local news and weather. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going quite like the power of quaker oats. today is going to be epic. quaker up.

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before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. >> announcer: you're watching "today in the bay." >> it's 7:56 a. good morning. i'm john kelly.

want to update you on a story we have been covering for a few hours. a woman trapped between two buildings in portland is freed finally after being stuck more than four hours. fire and rescue were there to pull her out 25 minutes ago. the crews had to be careful using a power saw slowly to cut through the cinder block. they cut holes on each side to get her out. the woman in good spirits as they loaded her onto a stretcher. she was able to give her husband a hug and a smile. at this hour, still not clear how she got stuck there. the good news, she's finally been set free. she was conscious, doing well. time to check in with christina loren. cold out there but sunshine on the way. >> good news. cold in portland but not as cold as the bay area. they are in the mid 30s. we are in the upper 20s. 29 degrees in concord. 30 degrees in gilroy. 34 in san jose. but you're one or two degrees warmer than yesterday. still feels as cold. temperatures will be in the 60s

today. another cold start tomorrow. not as frigid. four to six degrees warmer in the afternoon hours. we'll keep the warm-up going into the weekend. we are expecting 70s in santa cruz. 58 for today. in livermore. 57 in fairfield. the seven-day forecast, hitting the sweet stride by saturday. let's check the drive with mike. >> looking at traffic starting to move better. this is the traffic direction right to left. moving southbound 680 approaching what's reported as a disabled truck. a dump truck carrying a trailer. had a busted transaxel. they got the vehicles off the roadway. that's the slow down. a crash in the backup moving to the shoulder. that's the drama between 580 and fremont. lighter now. very slow into fremont. back to you. >> thank you very much. we'll be back with another local update. see you then.

it's 8:00 now on a wednesday morning, 16th of january, 2013. lots of umbrellas out there. it's a nasty, nasty day in the northeast. rain, sleet and snow for a lot of people sticking close to home, indoors this morning, starting this half hour. i'm matt lauer, along with savannah guthrie and mr. ryan seacrest is joining us for a little while as well. >> good to see you guys. got some "idol" chat. the show premieres tonight. >> what is it, 12? twelve seasons? >> twelve, yes. >> making some changes and those judges, always controversial. >> lots to talk about. lots to talk about. >> okay, good. also ahead, what are the odds that a set of identical twins would marry another set of identical twins and then, better yet, one of those couples now has a set of identical twins of their own. we'll meet all of them, complete

with a flow chart so i can keep them all straight. coming up in a few minutes. this time of year we're all kind of conscious of germs. do you realize how many people touch the same things you touch? it's flu season. we're doing an experiment, counting how many sets of hands touch the door handle to studio 1a. >> i didn't realize that camera was there. >> oh, absolutely. >> watch what you do. >> behave yourself when you're in the vestibule. >> take a look at the germs you're exposed to in any given day. >> i would probably rather not know. most prominent scientology member in hollywood to break away from the church after spending more than 30 years as a member. >> scientology a cult? >> oh, of course, it is. of course, it is. it's a system of beliefs that -- you've got these folks inside this fortress who won't look

out, won't look at any criticism and can't bear any investigation and think that everyone is against them. how would you describe that? it's a cult. of course it is. >> the church calls him, quote, the hypocrite of hollywood, also says he has not been an active member for years. we'll hear more from him and the author of this new book on scientology. that's coming up tomorrow on "rock center with brian williams" 10:00, 9:00 central time. >> natalie morales has the top headlines this morning. a helicopter crashed into a construction crane at the height of the morning rush hour. at least two people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured. messy winter weather is on the move with rain, sleet and snow causing treacherous travel conditions from the deep south to new england. icing forced hundreds of flight

cancellations in the dallas area and highway accidents in northern new mexico. the president unveiled his sweeping anti-gun violence plan, asking congress to mandate universal background checks for gun owners. now that lance armstrong has told oprah winfrey he used performance-enhancing drugs, he is under growing pressure to admit his guilt under oath. he has been in talks with the u.s. anti-doping officials and the world anti-doping agency said nothing short of a full confession under oath would cause it to reconsider armstrong's lifetime ban from sanctioned events. the search for a suspect is on in philadelphia. now that a 5-year-old girl taken from her school has been found safe. nbc's mara schiavocampo has the story. >> reporter: she was found 20 hours after she went missing, now back home with her family thanks to the good samaritan who

found her all alone in a park before dawn, but the hunt for her kidnapper continues. the surveillance video shows what officials are calling a brazen abduction, 5-year-old girl walking out of philadelphia's bryant elementary school with a woman, dressed, authorities say, in traditional muslim clothing and believed to be pregnant. officials say at 8:50 monday morning a woman claiming to be the girl's mother signed her out at the front desk and went to her kindergarten classroom where, against protocol, a substitute teacher let her leave. >> the child was actually targeted. this was not a random act. >> reporter: it was six hours before school officials realized the girl wasn't actually with a family member. >> please, please, take my baby anywhere that she could just be picked up, somewhere. >> reporter: early tuesday morning a good samaritan walking to work found the girl alone in a playground. >> when i seen her she only had a t-shirt on and it was wet. she had nothing else on. she was barefooted, cold,

shivering. >> the search continues for the suspect. >> the kidnapper has some special relationship there that connected her to the victim. law enforcement now is going to be going over anyone and everyone they can, trying to identify someone who fits. >> reporter: now relatives say the girl went with the woman because she thought it was an aunt. the man who found her will be getting the $10,000 reward. natalie? >> mara schiavocampo, thank you so much. for what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. the backward clothing trend with their video for jump, rap duo crisscross is reuniting. they'll perform at an all-star concert next month. the backward jeans live on, as this photo shows. featured recently got himself arrested with his latest hijinx. charles ross was charged with battery sunday, accused of giving wedgies to strangers at a florida movie theater.

nasa video shows how much iron can be packed into your breakfast cereal. brains at six science soaked the flakes in water and used a magnet to draw iron part icles o the surface. seeing is believing. now back over to matt, savannah and ryan. not sure that's all that great for you. >> the fall guy was giving people wedgies? >> wedgies at a movie theater. >> that will get you arrested. that will do that. >> that's assault right there. let's get a check of the weather. dylan dryer. i feel bad. >> do you feel bad? >> i feel it terrible but not terrible enough to come outside. >> i feel bad for this gentleman here. we need to get you a new umbrella. you are just not prepared for this kind of weather. we are dealing with the rain out here in new york city. it's coming down a little heavier right now. your pick city of the day is tampa, florida. no rain down that way. mostly sunny and warm. 81 degrees this afternoon, well

above average. this storm is going to affect the eastern seaboard for another couple of days. in the northeast, the snow is going to wind down. in the southeast we do still have flood watches in effect for tomorrow as well. we're looking for a total of about three to six inches across interior new england. it is still icing across portions of virginia, right down into mississippi, even tennessee, dealing with some ice this morning. and some sno >> 8:07, a live look at a beautiful clear start over san jose. very cold out there this morning. bundle up those little ones. 58 later on today. a good looking rebound ahead for livermore. 61 in gilroy, 61 in los gatos and 62 degrees in santa cruz. the next few days, you get into the warm-up, santa cruz is the warmest city across the bay area. getting into the weekend, 68 degrees inland. santa cruz 72 on sunday. and that is your latest

forecast. matt, savannah and ryan? >> dylan, thank you very much. ryan seacrest joins us. we'll sit down and talk to him about the new season of "american idol." he has promised to tell us every secret that is taking place within the judging panel, right after this. like that one, right there. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums

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rock you ♪ >> hi. >> hi. i'm mike. >> you need to come out of your shell, brother. >> there's your winner. good friend and colleague, ryan seacrest is the host of "american idol" and has been since day one. >> good to be back on the set here. excited about this. >> are you excited about this? season 12, is it a lot different as you prepare to do this season than it was season one? >> not for me in terms of preparation but is it a lot different the show? absolutely. >> why is that? >> that was the first audition people will see tonight on the episode that took place in new york for the auditions. just before that, there was a bit of a difference in opinion between nicki and mariah on the elevator ride up to our first day of shooting. before that contestant came in, they settled it, but on camera. you'll get to see some of the sparks right out of the gate this season. >> so, is this real, this, i guess, fractitiousness they have?

>> it is. these are two very strong performers that have had success that stand up for their opinion regardless of what it may be about. >> do you worry it becomes more about the judges than the contestants? >> the premise is that this show is about the contestants and that young person that's got a dream to become a singing superstar and our show delivers on that promise when you look at kelly clarkson, carrie underwood. latest winner has a number one song now. this season i think you'll see headlines about the contestants and the judges as well. it's going to be a two-parter. >> you say it's going to be different, obviously, because we have a whole new panel of judges. there are new rules. you try to open up the audition process and get more people involved? >> we took the idol bus around the country so that those who couldn't afford to get to one of the cities where we auditioned had access to the show and we

then flew them to one of the audition auditions around the country. >> i would assume that the auditions are horrifying and heartwarm i heartwarming at times. >> yes. this season is full of humor, heart, hair. hair extensions. nicki has colorful hair, lots of it. but there are some great stories with these contestants, some that are just incredible. a young man you'll meet tomorrow night in the chicago episode named lazaro who grew up with a stuttering problem. he didn't have any friends because of it. he turned to music as an escape. and when he came into the audition room, everything changed. he had a difficult time talking to the judges, but the second he started to sing, it all changed. we've got a clip of that. take a look at this. here is lazaro. >> they, they -- page over -- top of the water. >> okay. great song. >> great song.

>> okay. ♪ when you're feeling small when tears are in your eyes i will dry them all ♪ >> all right. come on. i mean, yeah. >> there won't be a dry eye. >> there isn't a dry eye. >> no. >> that really is -- you're the first person people see after they get -- when they head to the stage and when they come off the stage. you get a lot of hugs. >> get a lot of hugs. get hit from behind, picked up, squeezed, tossed around. >> you've been pick ed up quitea few times. >> i'm 152 pounds. i can be spun around very easily. i really enjoy meeting the families and talking to the moms and dads while their daughter or son is inside the room trying to live out their dream. >> it's always interesting. we get caught up in it. the music is great, the show is great and you've been a great host. >> lot of changes but one thing

stays the same. ryan seacrest, great to see you. >> tune in tonight. i think it will be a great night. you'll enjoy it. >> you got it. the season starts, "american idol." up next, identical twins who married identical twins and, take it, ryan. >> let's see. had some identical twins of their own? >> yes, they can't. because it was so yummy. weight watchers online worked for me because it lets me live my life. i can still go out with my friends. i can still enjoy my favorite foods and drinks. it's just a smarter way of eating. i lost 40 lbs. wow it's amazing. my most favorite part of my new body is my bottom. [ laughs ] [ hudson ] weight watchers online. the power of weight watchers completely online. join for free today.

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craig, diane, darlene and mark and their kids, holden, colby, braden, landry. i had to write down a little map so i would get everybody's name right. let's get the story out to start. diane and darlene, you went to a twin convention? >> yes, in twinsburg, ohio. we had been several times before. we went this year and happened to meet these wonderful guys. >> were you guys out, looking for a set of twins to date? >> no. we had family that lived nearby. it wasn't our first time to go. >> mark and craig, from your side of things, how did this all go down? >> mark met them first, so he should probably -- >> right. i was actually by myself in the lobby of the hotel when i first saw darlene and diane. craig was actually back in the hotel room working, because we were sort of working at the time on the story. i had to go get them because otherwise i was afraid they were going to be scared i was some single crashing the twin party. i had to prove i actually had a

double somewhere. i went and brought craig back and we kind of all met for the first time. >> excuse me for asking. do you ever confuse each other for one another? >> no. >> anything happen there? >> no. >> sometimes from the back but only for a second. >> i know you guys are into the twin thing. you had a double wedding? >> yes, we did. >> you proposed on the same day? i mean, how did that work out? what if one of you wasn't ready? what was the thinking behind that? >> i think we were worried when mark and i started wondering -- i asked him, how is it going? are you thinking it might get to the next step? and we were worried what happens if one proposes, what is that one going to think? is her sister also being proposed to? we kind of decided, okay, we'll do it at the same time. >> same engagement ring? >> yes. >> you wore the same wedding dress? >> yes. it was fun shopping for dresses. she would take half and i would take half and we would try them on. if it didn't look good on her, it wasn't going to look good on me. >> that's sufficient. >> and something a little more straighter so we could all fit down the aisle with our dad.

>> this is fun enough. you live right next door to each other in hughouston. you're very close. all of a sudden we've got two little kids coming along, colby and brady, identical twins. were you just shocked? >> yes. >> i mean, i remember, it was like a year, little after a year we got married and the doctor said -- we told them the history of our families. he said let's see how many are in there and she said, oh, yeah, it's twins. we thought she was joking but, no, come look. it's two. >> it's pretty cool? >> yeah. >> do people ask you guys about this a lot? >> yeah. >> be honest, have any of you kids ever thought your aunt was your mom? >> yes. >> you have? >> you have? >> from the back. >> they look so similar? >> i did it from the front once. >> you did? so, diane and darlene, i know you're really, really close. does anybody here ever get kind of tired of the whole twin thing? >> we never get tired. >> i'm considered the evil twin,

i guess, of the four of us. sometimes there is an evil twin. i'm the one, probably, who gets a little tired of the story. it doesn't get that much attention. every now and then it gets to be too much. >> you've given us a smile this morning. i have to ask you, do you always dress alike? >> we do not. >> okay. sanders family, thank you so much for being here. don't quiz me on the names, okay? >> we'll answer to either. >> happy to see you. thank you. >> thank you. now here's matt. >> savannah, thanks. a quick hello to jeremy rener and jim archerton who star in the upcoming 3d movie "hansel & g rechlt ttel." i'm not taking my kids to this, right? >> no. >> that would be a mistake? >> yes. >> what happened to hansel and g grettel that i read about in grimms that turns them into witch hunters? >> we last leave hansel hansel & grettel in the forest and they find a candy house,

right? >> right. >> and get killed by a witch, the end. you're not sending your kid to bed with that story either. >> it didn't end there, right. >> what if and where are they now, 15 years later? what are they doing? they become bounty hunters that kill witches. >> you might be looking at you now, wait a minute, she was a bond girl. you're not a damsel in distress. >> it was attractive to me to play a tough girl and have a lot of action and a lot of -- i get beaten up pretty bad. it was great. we play -- you know, we go hand in hand together as a team. i really enjoyed all the action. >> the action, is it jackie chan like? that's one of the descriptions i read. is it very realistic or a little bit of sense of humor to it? >> well, has a little sense of humor, for sure. there's no technique in the sense that it's sloppy and more western -- we get our butts

kicked a lot in this. but the action is a full-on sort of -- there's no technical thing. it's pretty sloppy and a lot of fun. >> i always listen to americans who take on british accents and say, okay, that's -- i'm always amazed at someone who is british who can do an american accent. you do it really well in this movie. give me three minutes -- give me three seconds of your american accent. >> they always do this and it's really, really difficult to do it on cue in front of the nation. i'll really sorry if it sounds bad but good morning. >> perfect. bizarre for an american to hear that. the movie is called hansel hansel & grettel. it opens january 25th. good to see you.

good wednesday morning to you. 8:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. police are looking for a man who tried to wrestle a toddler out of her mother's arms in her yard. it happened on the east side of san jose last night on the 200 block of dayo court near white and aborn. the mother picked up her daughter when the man tried to grab the girl's legs. the mother escaped with the girl and called police. police are looking for him. i want to look at the commute with mike. >> look at the roadway as well as the problem. this is south 101 through palo alto, we're looking south at the sun, that's causing some of the slowdown. pretty typical on the map from san mateo into the area we looked at. and north into palo alto also slow. 237 recovers after crashes have

cleared in the commute direction. 880 from hayward, it's crawling. try to avoid 680 which is slow. a sigalert because the truck is in lanes south 680. it's slow down into fremont. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. i'll have another update in a half hour. and we'll have a look at the forecast. a little warming on the way.

♪ little red corvette ♪ baby you're much too fast >> how about this? 8:30 on a wednesday morning. i would like to get chauffeured to work every day by you, matt lauer. don't hit natalie! this is the new 2014 corvette stingray. thanks for the ride, matt. >> i'm having a midlife crisis and loving it, loving every minute of it. >> you push the button and the door just opens? >> yeah. >> so they told me. now i can't get out. oh, there they go. maybe i'm not smart enough for

this car. >> 50 years after they first used the name singray, they are bringing it back in stunning style. the chief designer and engineer of this car. it's great to see you. good morning. >> great to be here. i wish the weather was a little better, but great to be here. >> it doesn't matter. this car shines in any weather. talk to me about what's very new about this car. >> absolutely everything. two parts carry ied over from t previous corvette. everything else has been redesigned with racing technology, exotic materials like aluminum, magnesium, fiber makes it super light, super fast and very fuel efficient. >> we haven't had a stingray in decades. >> decade. >> what about this car made you feel it was worthy of the name? >> stingray is a hal olowed nam in the car industry. beautiful look, interior, inside

and outside. same technology portfolio that gives it real street cred, real performance. >> just how fast? >> zero to 60 in under four seconds, fastest standard corvette we've ever produced and also by far the most fuel efficient. >> matt was driving it like grandpa. >> i tried to spin out the wheels back there. >> we want you to be safe. there's only one of these cars like this. it actually, we're auctioning off the first stingray at barrett-jackson this saturday, raising money for charity. >> someone told me i was just given the honor to be the first person outside of your company to ever drive that car. >> this car has been me and you now. >> wow! >> way to go. >> thank you so much. >> hope i didn't drag any mud into it. >> it's beautiful. really nice. we've got a lot coming up in this half hour. first let's go to dylan dreyer, who has a check of the weather

in for al today. >> took a corvette to get you outside today. across the southeast we are still looking at some rain. out ahead of that cold front we've got temperatures almost 20 degrees above normal. look at northern florida. we are looking for temperatures about 10 to 15 degrees above normal and ft. lauderdale about 81 degrees this afternoon. that front is still going to bring rain to the southeast as we go into tomorrow as well. but for today, that ice across tennessee. we're also looking for ice in west virginia and it's snow across central and northern new england. interior new england could end up with about three to six inches of snow and lighter snow showers across the western great lakes, tlup montana >> good morning. i'm christina loren. this is the bay bridge toll plaza. the backup not bad. the sky hazy. we do have a spare the air alert in place and the unhealthiest air quality is up in the north bay. 58 in livermore, 61 for gilroy,

61 in los gatos. warming you up, a couple degrees this afternoon, even more so for thursday. we're going to finish off the week unseasonably warm. 64 for friday, then saturday and sunday we'll peak at 68 degrees inland. and, of course, you can check out your weather any time on weather.com. sarch ana? >> dylan, thank you so much. coming up next, what you should not touch during flu season. here is one item, the door to our studio. we will show you how many times it is touched in just one morning. we'll show you what else to avoid to keep yourself healthy this season. first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ ♪

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season. here is a scary statistic. in one minute, we grab up to 30 objects and touch our faces up to five times. so, basically we're touching germs all day long and then putting them on our faces. dr. roshini raj is a "today" contributor and health magazine's medical contributor. good morning. >> good to see you. >> this is one of the worst flu seasons we've had in a real long time. >> it is. >> i'm starting to see people walk around with little containers of hand san advertiser, which is a good thing. >> right. >> but we are going to get exposed to germs. >> not touch your face, your eyes, nose, mouth, wash your hands thoroughly and often, using hand san advertiser. >> we come in often during a day and people may not think about them as great contributors to the germ exposure. here is one of them right off the bat. menus. >> many people do not think about menus as something you have to worry about. it's changing hands so many t e

times. they're often not clean in between the customers. what you need to be careful of is trying not to have the menu touch your plate, utensils. after you order, you're done with the menu, go wash your hands before you eat. >> you're in a restaurant. you don't want people -- you suggest that people don't order drinks with fruit slices in them. >> yeah. surprisingly, about 70% of lemon rinds tested in studies did have some bacteria that caused disease. you don't want the lemon rind, orange, piece of lemon. ask for it plain without any of that. >> you're sitting at the restaurant table. take a look at the condiment dispensers. >> problem, people are using these. they may not have washed their hands before they ate. even if they did, you eat a french fry, reach for more ketchup. if you want to wipe it down, you can. avoid it all together. >> do we go as far as take a napkin from the dispenser and use it to pick up a condiment?

>> go for it. >> public restrooms. first thing is first. >> the door handle. unfortunately, many people don't wash their hands either before or after they're going to the bathroom. you want to be careful. you're going to have to use it when you first go in. but wash your hands and use a paper towel with any surface you're going to touch in a public bathroom. grab the paper towel. use it to dispense the soap. soap dispensers were found to have significant amount of back tear w -- bacteria. they just finished using the restroom. now they're going to wash their hands but putting germs on the dispenser. >> people assume there's soap in it, we don't have to clean it. you do. same thing with the faucet handle. before they're clean they're opening the faucet. use a paper towel to do that as well. of course, the toilet itself. you don't want to touch the handle. >> in a lot of bathrooms today, a lot of companies or organizations they're trying to do away with paper so they don't

waste paper, putting those high-powered blowers in there. the problem is that that doesn't leave you anything to use to open the door on your way out of the bathroom. >> you're absolutely right. if you're really concerned, which you should be, bring your own wipe. you can do that. >> let's move on. i never thought about this, but shopping carts. >> they've been found to have very high levels of bacteria. we're talking about e.coli, other bacteria that can cause serious illness. a lot of people put their kids in there and often kids are sick. you don't want to be touching this handle with your bare hands. supermarkets now have wipes that you can use to wipe it down. definitely don't put your kids in there. they can pick up other people's germs. >> we did a little survey and put a camera on our studio door just to talk about how many different people touch an object in a short amount of time. that door right there, we had 35 people touch it in just ten minutes. >> wow! yeah. >> imagine over the course of the day what kind of germs that handle has picked up. >> one or many of those people are harboring some kind of cold

or virus right now. >> just to add insult to injury, you go to the doctor's office to get treated for sickness or something else. that's a place where there are a lot of germs. >> you have to be careful. there are sick people there. especially the waiting room. if possible, have at least two or three seats between you and other people that are waiting there. don't touch the magazines. if you have kids, pediatrician's office, don't let them play with the toys. i've trained my kids to sit there, stare longingly at the toys but don't touch them. they're crawling with germs. >> couple of others on my major list, handrails on stairs and escalators. >> yep, elevator buttons. wash your hands off. that's keet. >> have a great day, everybody! >> yes, enjoy. >> dr. r oshini raj, thanks. up next, rapper fifty cent. laws

back now at 8:43, curtis

"fify cent" jackson, with his hit single "in the club," hanging back crunching in the video. ever since, fans have wanted to know what is the secret to looking like that? 11 grammy nominations later, he is revealing the answer in his new book formula 50 or is it fi'ty? a workout plan that will transform your life. how is my fi'ty or should i say curtis? >> it comes from sharon osbourne and it stuck. >> it has a ring to it, doesn't it? your friends call you the machine? >> they call me that. it comes from my physical experience in 2000. i had to rehabilitate myself. i was conscious of my health. >> let's talk about that. back in 2000, you were shot. >> yes. >> reporter: terrible ordeal you went through. >> i had to come back, to go

through like rehab in the city of new york. i traveled like an hour from where i was actually staying. so from there, they put you on special treadmills and stuff to walk because my legs were damaged pretty bad. and then i started to go to a local gym to walk on a treadmill and it just -- being in the environment, it made me, you know, want to be more involved in the other aspects of my physical health. >> that's when you started getting into working out. is this book for mere mortals? we joke about it. we see you at "in the club." our results may very. you're pretty in shape. >> when they call me machine they're making fun of me. >> oh, they are? >> yes. the book is for the average person to -- person that's a little more advanced. there's two different programs in there. it's a six-week program. it has diet involved in it. a lot of times people get the training right and not implement the right diet and so they don't see the results they're actually looking for. >> a lot of people have notions

about the rap lifestyle. not everyone immediately thinks this is the healthiest lifestyle. something you take on right away in the book. you write you might legitimately ask, who are you to preach fitness? aren't you the guy who dropped joints like high all the time? >> comfortable with that fitness and everything else i wrote in the album, all the dysfunctional behaviors i grew up with on my first cd. you become type cast. you become actually the song. people see you that way. it's cool. i've worked against it ever since that. i made everyone publicly aware that i don't actually use drugs or drink. >> fair to say there's no bacardi sipping in the book. number one, where there's a will, there's a way. and, number two, just because there's a way doesn't mean it's the best one. what do you mean by that? >> when there's a will, there's a way. if you want to make a difference in your physical health or physical state you can actually

do it. and when i say -- because it's a way doesn't necessarily mean it's the right way, i mean starving yourself is not an actual answer or an option. you can't actually sustain that. you can go through a small period of time of not actually eating. when you do eat again you're going to eat more, you know. it defeats the purpose. >> another law, your most important muscle is your heart so train it accordingly. and learn to embrace chaos in the gym. turn it to your advantage. what does that mean? >> heart rate, cardio, even if you're not going in the gym trying to turn into a superhero, you just want good health, you have to be conscious of that. a lot of people casually work out. a lot of businessmen you see walk around here have been in the gym before they actually left for work. and the other portion of it, that law -- what's the last part? it says -- >> learn to embrace chaos. >> the gym itself, there's so much going on, you have to deal

with how to improvise. if you stay to a strict routine and someone else is there, you learn how to move. >> go in there and do it, don't sit around chatting with your friend friends. >> right. >> keep it tight when you go to the gym. >> that's right. >> the book is called formula fify or fi'ty. curtis jackson, thank you. you're going to stick around and talk to us for "today's" take three, right? >> yes. >> we'll see you in a couple of minutes. how to find the perf

well, good day from new

york. in a moment we'll be going to the auditorium adjacent to the white house to hear from the president what he's going to propose today, announces to the most president has proposed on any gun control perhaps in a couple of decades. you'll see children filing in to take their place behind the president where he's going to sign at least one document. chuck todd was the first to report for us last night what exactly was contained in this pack annual we'll see unveiled today. >> reporter: here's what we know, the president will lean heavily pushing for universal background checks in all shapes and sizes meaning closing the so-called gun show loophole but improving it on a number of levels both asking for legislation from congress, but also trying to close loopholes he can do with executive action. the second big thing he's going to push has to do with an assault weapons ban and a magazine ban, if you will, anything with more than ten

rounds, that's going to take congressional action, that's probably the toughest part of it. he's going to talk about it in one larger element when it comes to the banning of assault weapons and this idea of ammunition. it's actually going to be two separate bills in congress. >> ladies and gentlemen the president and vice president of the united states. >> reporter: back to you brian. >> here come the president and vice president. first the vice president is headed up this effort. >> before i begin today, let me say to the families of the innocents who were murdered 33 days ago, our heart, our heart goes out to you, and you show incredible courage, incredible courage being here and the president and i are going to do everything in our power to honor the memory of your children, and your wives, with the work we take up here today. it's been 33 days since the nation's heart was broken by the

horrific, senseless violence that took place at sandy hook elementary school. 20, 20 beautiful first graders gunned down in a place that's supposed to be their second sanctua sanctuary. six, six members of the staff killed, trying to save those children. it's literally been hard for the nation to comprehend, hard for the nation to fathom and i know for the families who are here, time is not measured in days, but it's measured in minutes, in seconds, since you received that news. another minute without your daughter, another minute without your son, another minute without your wife, another minute without your mom. i want to personally thank chris and lynn mcdonnell, who lost a beautiful daughter, grace, and

the other parents who i had a chance to speak to for their suggestions and for, again, just for their, the courage of all of you to be here today. i admire, i admire the grace and the resolve that you all are showing, and i must say, i've been deeply affected by your faith as well, and the president and i are going to do everything to try to match the resolve you've demonstrated. no one can know for certain if this senseless act could have been prevented but we all know we have a moral obligation, a moral obligation to do everything in our power to diminish the prospect that something like this could happen again. as the president knows, i've worked in this field a long time, in the united states senate, having chaired a committee that had jurisdiction over these issues of guns and crime, and having drafted the

first gun violence legislation, the last gun violence legislation, i should say, and i have known what we're up against and how hard the task is in front of us, but i also have never seen the nation's conscience so shaken by what happened to sandy hook. the world has changed, and it's demanding action. it's in this context that the president asked me to put together, along with cabinet members, a set of recommendations about how we should proceed to meet that moral obligation. to that end the cabinet members and i sat down with 229 groups, not just individuals, representing groups, 229 groups from law enforcement officials, gun officials, gun advocacy groups to sportsmen and hunters and religious leaders, and i've spoken with members of congress of both sides of the aisle, had extensive conversation with mayors and governors, and county

officials, and the recommendations we provided to the president on monday call for executive actions he could sign, legislation cocall fuld call fo. they're based on the emerging consensus from all of the groups with whom we spoke including some of the victims who were victims of this god awful occurrence. ways to take to prevent violence as much as we did can in the fi place. some of what you'll hear from the president will happen immediately, some will take some time but we have begun and starting here today and we resolve to continue this fight. during the meetings we held we met with a young man here today, collin goddard, where are you? collin was one of the survivors of the virginia tech massacre.

he was in the classroom. he calls himself one of the lucky seven, and he'll tell you, he was shot four times on that day, and he has three bullets that are still inside him, and when i ask collin what he thought we should be doing? he said i'm not here because of what happened to me. i'm here because of what happened to me keeps happening to other people, and we have to do something about it. collin, we will. collin, i promise you, we will. this is our intention, we must do what we can now, and there's no person who is more committed to acting on this moral obligation we have than the president of the united states of america. ladies and gentlemen, president barack obama. >> thank you. thank you. thank you.

thank you so much. thank you, everybody, please, please have a seat. good afternoon, everybody. let me begin by thanking our vice president, joe biden, for your dedication, joe, to this issue, for bringing so many different voices to the table, because while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn't be a divisible. over the month since the tragedy in newtown, we've heard from so many, and obviously none have affected us more than the families of those gorgeous children, and their teachers and guardians who were lost, and so we're grateful to all of you for taking the time to be here and recognizing that we honor their memories in part by doing

everything we can to prevent this from happening again. but we also heard from some unexpected people, in particular, i started getting a lot of letters from kids, four of them are here today, grant fritz, julia stokes, hina ziha and teja good. they're pretty representative of some of the messages that i got. these are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart, young people. hina, a third grader, you can go ahead and wave hina, that's you. hina wrote, "i feel terrible for the parents who lost their children. i love my country, and i want everybody to be happy and safe. and then grant, go ahead and wave, grant. grant said "i think there should

be some changes, we should learn from what happened at sandy hook. i feel really bad." then julia said, julia, where are you? there you go. "i'm not scared for my safety, i'm scared for others. i have four brothers and sisters and i know i would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them." these are our kids. this is what they're thinking about. and so what we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them and shield them from harm and give them the tools they need to grow up and do everything that they're capable of doing, not just to pursue their own dreams but to help build this country. this is our first task as a society, keeping our children

safe. this is how we will be judged, and their voices should compel us to change. and that's why last month i asked joe to lead an effort, along with members of my cabinet, to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. and we can't put this off any longer. just last thursday as tv networks were covering one of joe's meetings, on this topic, news broke of another school shooting, this one in california. in the month since 20 precious children and six adults were violently taken from us at sandy hook elementary, more than 900 of our fellow americans have

reportedly died at the end of a gun, 900 in the past month, and every day we wait, that number will keep growing. so i'm putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of joe's task force, and in the days ahead, i intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality. because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try,

and i'm going to do my part. as soon as i'm finished speaking here, i will sit at that desk and i will sign a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence. we will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by strengthening the background check system. we will help schools hire more resource officers, if they want them, and develop emergency preparedness plans. we will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence, even as we acknowledge that someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of a violent crime than the perpetrator. and while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun

violence, i will direct the centers for disease control to go ahead and study the best ways toe it, and congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds. we don't benefit from ignorance. we don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence. these are a few of the 23 executive actions that i'm announcing today, but as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of congress. to make a real and lasting difference, congress, too, must act, and congress must act soon, and i'm calling on congress to pass some very specific proposals right away. first, it's time for congress to

require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun. [ applause ] the law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks and that's kept 1.5 million people in the last five years to get a gun but it's hard to enforce that law when as many as 40% of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check. that's not safe. that's not smart. it's not fair to responsible gun buyers or sellers. if you want to buy a gun, whether it's from a licensed dealer or a private seller, you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one. this is common sense, and an overwhelming majority of americans agree with us on the

need for universal background checks including more than 70% of the national rifle association's members, according to one survey, so there's no reason we can't do this. second, congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons and a ten-round limit for magazines. [ applause ] the type of assault rifle used in aurora, for example, when paired with high-capacity magazines, has one purpose, to pump out as many bullets as possible as quickly as possible, to do as much damage, using bullets often designed to inflict maximum damage, and that's what allowed the gunman in aurora to shoot 70 people, 70 people, killing 12, in a matter of minutes. weapons designed for the theater

of war have no place in a movie theater. a majority of americans agree with us on this and by the way, so did ronald reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the second amendment who wrote to congress in 1994, urging them, this is ronald reagan speaking, urging them to listen to the american public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of military style assault weapons. [ applause ] finally, congress needs to help rather than hinder law enforcement as it does its job. we should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals, and we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this. since congress hasn't confirmed the director of the bureau of

alcohol, tobacco and firearms in six years, they should confirm todd jones, who has been acting and i will be nominating for the post. [ applause ] and at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job, and back on our streets. let me be absolutely clear, like most americans, i believe the second amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. i respect our strong tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of hunters and sportsmen. there are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in america who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting or sport or protection, or collection. i also believe most gun owners

agree that we can respect the second amendment while keeping an irresponsible law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. i believe most of them agree that if america worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atropical storm icrostroi that occurred in newtown. that's what these reforms were designed to do. they're common sense measures. they have the support of the majority of the american people, and yet that doesn't mean any of this is going to be easy to enact or implement. if it were, we'd already have universal background checks, the ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines never would have been allowed to expire. more of our fellow americans might still be alive, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations. this will be difficult. there will be pundits and politicians and special interest

lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical all-out assault on liberty, not because that's true, but because they want to jin up fear, higher revenue ratings for themselves and behind the scenes they'll do everything they can to block any common sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever. the only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different, that this time we must do something to protect our communities and our kids. i will put everything i've got into this and so will joe, but i tell you, the only way we can change is if the american people

demand it. and by the way, that doesn't just mean from certain parts of the country. we're going to need voices in those areas and those congressional districts where the tradition of gun ownership is strong, to speak up and to say this is important. it can't just be the usual suspects. we have to examine ourselves and our hearts, and ask ourselves what is important. this will not happen unless the american people demand it. if parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, if hunters and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if americans of every background stand up and say, enough, we've suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue, then change will

come. that's what it's going to take. on the letter that julia wrote me, she said, "i know that laws have to be passed by congress, but i beg you to try very hard." julia, i will try very hard. but she's right. the most important changes we can make depend on congressional action. they need to bring these proposals up for a vote, and the american people need to make sure that they do. get them on record, ask your member of congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands, ask them if they support a ban on military style weapons and high capacity magazines, and if they say no, ask them why not.

ask them what's more important, doing whatever it takes to get an "a" grade from the gun lobby that funds their campaigns or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade? [ applause ] this is the land of the free and it always will be. as americans, we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us, but we've also long recognized as our founders recognized that with rights come responsibilities. along with our freedom to live our lives as we will comes an obligation to allow others to do the same. we don't live in isolation.

we live in a society, a government of, by and for the people. we are responsible for each other. we have the right to worship freely and safely. that right was denied to sikhs in oak creek, wisconsin. the right to assemble peacefully, that right was denied shoppers in clackamas, oregon, and movie-goers in aurora, colorado, that most fundamental set of rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, fundamental rights denied to college students at virginia tech and high school students at columbine and elementary school students in newtown and kids on street corner in chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate, and all the families who have

never imagined they'd lose a loved one to a bullet. those rights are at stake. we're responsible. and when i visited newtown last month i spent some private time with many of the families who lost their children that day and one was the family of grace mcdonnell. grace's parents are here. grace was 7 years old when she was struck down, a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl. i'm told she loved pink. she loved the beach. she dreamed of becoming a painter, and so just before i left chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings, and i hung it in my private study, just off the oval office, and every time

i look at that painting i think about grace, and i think about the life that she lived, and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, i think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now, for grace, for the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give, for the men and women in big cities and small towns who fall victims to senseless violence each and every day, for all the americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm. let's do the right thing. let's do the right thing for them and for this country that we love so much. thank you. [ applause ] we'll go sign these orders.

>> we watch as the president puts his signature to these executive orders. >> there we go. [ applause ] >> some emotional remarks by the president, acknowledging more than once the children behind him who wrote him letters after the newtown tragedy, parents in attendance, lost children from the newtown tragedy, 20 kids killed 33 days ago. david gregory, moderator of "meet the press" has been watching with us. david, after this event and

when, if you want to call it business of washington gets down to business, where will this all stand now? >> the politics are so difficult, brian, that even the images of children behind the president and children who were killed in newtown, as much as that moves the country, the president acknowledged in his remarks, this will not happen unless the american people demand this. he understands that the reason there had been this sort of settled politics on gun control is there was not the political will to take it on, on the left, any longer, that that somehow has to be broken by a different kind of campaigning. the nra is very active in opposition to some of the things the president is proposing yet it's interesting, brian, the president used the nra's own standard, wayne lapierre, there ought to be more armed guards in schools because if there's anything that can be done to minimize potential violence it should be tried.

that's what the president said today and the challenge he laid out before republicans and democrats in congress. >> so i can go down, david, as i did, the latest compilation of public opinion polling and in each area, the president mentioned, i can find a majority of citizens for it when asked, but you're saying it's a more complicated factor than that, because of the lobbying pressure. >> the lobbying pressure and the argument that will be made the measures have been tried before and have not succeeded before and therefore should not be tried again. it's a very familiar push. >> all right, we're joined also by senator james inhofe, republican of oklahoma, the incoming ranking member of armed services in the senate. senator, thank you very much for being with us, and i want to get your initial reaction to what you just heard from the president. >> well, brian, first of all, let's keep in mind that that was the most heart-wrenching thing just to observe from afar what happened in newtown,

connecticut, and you know, i've got my own little audience here, too, these are my 20 kids and grandkids so certainly we're sensitive to everything that happened there. every time something like this does happen we respond, people who are under the or have been promoting gun control for a long period of time respond emotionally. that's understandable. that's part of the system. here's my response to it. first of all, and i wrote this down as he was talking, he's talking about 23 executive orders, to me, no one has read those yet, i don't have any idea what they are but i want to make sure that all the people in oklahoma in my state know that we're talking about two almost unrelated things, one, you have executive orders, he can do that and secondly you have to pass laws, and some of these things he's talking about, it's kind of confusing and there are going to be a lot of people out there that think we have to have this mandatory checking and not being aware of what is out there today. so i think i want everyone to

know that we're talking about two things, the executive orders -- i think i'll probably support a lot of the executive orders. i haven't seen them yet nor has anyone who is watching us now, but the other is the legislative process in putting together legislation in the house and the senate is not an easy thing and we're going to have to look and see what all is in his recommended legislation that he's going to propose through congress. >> well, senator, i was just going to ask, anything you heard today that crossed a line for you or in the wake of newtown, can you get behind what you heard the president say? >> no, on the legislation, you have to wait and see what's in the legislation. when you're talking about background checks, there are already background checks, and i don't agree with the statistic he used 33%, whatever it was, some large percentage of the guns that have been used in violent acts have not ever had a background check. i don't believe that's true, and the other assumption is always there when you talk about

legislation, is that somehow that criminal element, they're the ones almost 98% of the cases are responsible, that somehow if we pass a law they're going to single out that particular law to obey. if you talk about the ten rounds, there is some merit to this thing. on the other hand you have to , the law enforcement community and the law-abiding community would be assuming that ten rounds is a maximum, and yet there could be crimes committed, they would, in their system find out they have 20 or 30 rounds because we're talking about the criminal element here, so it's not going to be easy. no legislation i know legislation is going to be introduced and we'll look at it when it happens. >> senator james inhofe, republican of oklahoma thank you very much for joining us, following the president's remarks today. we'll have, of course, a complete wrap-up and analysis tonight on "nbc nightly news." from new york, i'm brian williams, our thanks to all the

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it's a big breakfast... [ crunch! ] ...in new a little biscuit. smile! ohhh bring it in! ooohhhooh! coming up, get ready to get crafty. we're going to do this with duct tape. yeah, duct tape. we'll make all these cool things. these are the saturdays, huge overseas, making their push into the united states. just after your local news and weather. a can of del monte peaches?

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good morning to you. it's 9:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. the san francisco archdiocese says help is needed to find the bodies of two hit and run victims back to their families. the two were innocent bystanders struck and killed by a car trying to escape police after new year's day shooting. the archdiocese is coordinating the arrangements for the families. it will cost more than $12,000 to have their remains sent home. >> also in san francisco police looking for this man they say threw a dog to the ground during a robbery. police say he is the man shown running away. the dog was a 12-year-old mix who had to be put down. let's check the forecast and traffic right after this break.

>> welcome back. it's still cold out there but not as cold as yesterday morning. 38 in san jose and 42 in san mateo. we're going to end up warmer this afternoon as offshore flow actually picks up. you can see how many cities are reporting winds out of the east, that's a good indication that we're going to hit the 60s later today. 61 in gilroy, 61 in san jose, upper 50s for oakland. 60 degrees in san francisco. into the weekend we're only going to get warmer and we're almost there. you made it to wednesday. let's check on the drive, get you to work on time. >> i'll take that as a down payment for the weekend. we're looking at 101. a lighter flow but still recovering from 680 on the maps you see it's slow through the area, it's recovering, there is another crash around the airport on the northbound side. also 880 slow up to the interchange and southbound side a crash. so we still have issues for the south bay, not clearing up

completely. south 880 also a tough drive, some headed over from 680 and down 880 because of the earlier sigalert which has just cleared in the last half hour. all lanes are clear but a crash in the backup. slow approaching the dublin for 580 and south into sunol approaching fremont for 680. all lanes are clear. >> thank you. we'll have another update in about a half hour or so. in the meantime, enjoy your morning.

how much you're being paid for your efforts? >> which effort are those? >> the work you're doing for the mayor. i'll give you $50,000 to give it up. >> that's very generous, but i've got a contract with the mayor. >> break it. >> you don't break -- >> that is oscar-winning actress catherine zeta-jones where she tangles with both russell crowe and mark wahlberg in "broken city" and she'll be here to tangle with us tomorrow on "today." guys will like that. i'm natalie morales, along with willie geist and dylan dreyer, who is in for al today. coming up, what could you do with duct tape? >> what can't you do? >> what can't you do these days? these days, of course, duct tape comes in all kinds of colors and patterns. it's an inexpensive way to brighten your home. we'll show you some do it yourself projects. >> all right.

then sticking to that diet. do you think you're too busy to eat healthy? we'll show you some meals that will only take about five minutes to help you keep that weight off. we'll go behind the scenes with the girl band, the saturdays, who are absolutely huge in the u.k., british pop stars now taking on the u.s. while juggling parenthood and boyfriends. one of them, we'll let you guess, even went on a date with prince harry. we'll ask about all of that and give you a peek of their new reality show in a few minutes. first let's check in with diyla. the rain finally stopped. we're trying to get sunshine out here. that's a slower step coming our way. rain continues to fall across the southeast today and tomorrow. it's more about the icing situation that we had across kentucky and tennessee. snow and especially interior new england where we picked up around three to five, six inches of snow in that area. tomorrow, though, the rain will continue to sit in the southeast. we already have more flood watches posted, even one to

three inches of snow possible on the back side of that storm in areas like tennessee and kentucky once again. very unusual weather down that way. very frigid across the interior midwest through the plains. we are looking for just very chilly temperatures. and the west coast is actually dealing with air stagnation advisories. chilly in the northeast, too. we're done with those above-average te >> 9:32 on wednesday morning. i'm christine loren. you can see the spare the air alert due to unhealthy level of pollutants in the north bay f. you have asthma you want to try to limit your outdoor activity today. we'll likely see that tomorrow as well. 58 in livermore, 61 degrees in san jose. we keep on climbing all the way into the weekend. and that is your latest

forecast. >> thanks, dylan. coming up next, home decorating with duct tape. we'll show you how after this. hey sis, it's so great to see you. you, too! oh, cloudy glasses. you didn't have to come over! actually, honey, i think i did... oh? you did? whoa, ladies, easy. hi. cascade kitchen counselor. we can help avoid this with cascade complete pacs. see, over time, cascade complete pacs fight film buildup two times better than finish quantum. to help leave glasses sparkling shiny! too bad it doesn't work on windows. okay, i'm outta here. cascade. the clear choice. crrkkhshziiiizzlllee. beautiful. shhhhshshshshhshshhhhhsshhhshs. gorgeous! here comes the crescendo. kkerrrrbbuuuuuucraaackkk. just...incredible. pillsbury toaster strudel. if beethoven made breakfast. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪ [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact

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this morning on do it yourself "today," duct tape, a trend and new ways to give your home a lift. ideas straight from the pages of hgtv magazine. good morning, sarah. >> good morning. >> i've seen this now everywhere. duct tape is the new hot thing. >> duct tape got a makeover. it used to be only silver. now it's patterns, colors, polka dots. >> you can find these in any craft store? >> any store with a craft aisle. they range from $3 to $10 and up depending on the color and the pattern. >> where did this trend come about? >> in kids' crafts, art projects it's an easy way to add color. you see in the market a fun way to add stuff. cute coasters. wallets are a really popular covering with duct tape. ereaders, notebooks. >> my notebooks or my books with newspaper, gift wrap.

now it's taken over. >> it's kind of the new laminate with fun patterns. it's really easy in a diy, really inexpensive, cheap, easy to use. less messy than paint. why buy it when you can diy it? we're going to try some projects. >> all right. >> you don't even have to be a professional crafter. starting with a white chair, we made a plaid seat. >> how did you do that? >> we wanted it to be a little thinner. duct tapes comes in two or three inches wide. i cut them thinner. you don't have to. i used the cutting mat and utility knife. scissors are fine. you don't have to be fancy about it. cardboard can be your baseline. >> we'll decorate these chairs. >> yep. do you want to grab -- peel it up. your ends are fine. i'll do this one. just eyeball it. >> and then how do you put -- >> just press it down. get all the air bubbles out.

here is a trick. grab an old credit card, my coffee or rewards point card. smooth it out. >> perfect. >> wrap the edge end. that's it. >> that's it? >> it's durable, waterproof. it will stick to anything. >> and you can continue on with the orange and so on and so forth. you got the idea. let's move on to a bathroom idea. >> striped it with patterns. i just cut and rounded the edges a little bit for effect. >> i like that. >> and then varied the heights of the stripes. that's really easy to use. it's waterproof so this stuff gets splashed, it is fine. no problem. >> no problem with the duct tape on that. >> use scissors. if they get a little gummed up, grab your goo gone, clean them off and then continue. >> i like the switch plate idea. >> my favorite, cute for kid rooms, playrooms. all i need -- i'll grab this one. two strips of the duct tape to cover the front. you make sure the whole front is covered. overlap a little bit, the

pattern, that's fine. lay it flat. cut out the hole. >> a utility knife or regular knife? >> yes. >> i like how people are doing this now. >> really inexpensive art. we brought prestretched canvas and covered the fronts with duct tape. use whatever pattern you like. >> okay. and then over on the end. >> i like the graphic. going for your favorite. >> we framed these. you don't have to. this was less than $25 to make each one. >> really? >> instant art collage. >> cardboard. we did diagonal. cute with chevron stripes. >> taking it to a new level. disguising the cast has not been easy. i did it for the golden globes. i'm going to have you help me out. >> now that you know all these colors and patterns, you can put duct tape on everything. i would probably start up here.

wrap it around. >> i picked denim, the paisley pattern because it goes with everything, the denim. >> keep going. >> here is a do it yourself project. >> i have seen kids cover their skateboards, bicycles, notebooks. >> very personal, too. >> it's fun. >> great stuff as always. we'll keep working on this. coming up next, getting to know the saturdays. the british pop stars are coming up, right after this. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] let's take every drop of courage, every ounce of inspiration, every bit of determination, and go where we've never gone before. ♪ introducing the radically new avalon. toyota. let's go places.

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the saturdays may not be a household name in the u.s. just yet but in the u.k., those pop sensations are ready to take their stardom to a whole new level. they have a new album and a whole new reality special called "chasing the saturdays," a glimpse in their personal lives and it's not always pretty. >> i had depression and i dealt with it. instead of me controlling it, it controlled me. i spoke to my doctor and she sugge suggested maybe i go into the hospital. i was supposed to be only there in a week and i ended up being

in there a month. i dwot control over it again. it's definitely something i worry about. >> the saturdays join us here this morning. so great to meet you all. >> you, too. thank you. >> molly, let me start right here. you've been around since 2007, 11 top ten singles in the u.k., three top ten albums and only now are you coming into the united states. what's it been like? you are huge stars overseas. what's it like now living here in los angeles? >> it's amazing. we were here last summer for three months filming the show. it's refreshing for us to be here, isn't it? we always wanted to break america. we're keeping everything crossed literally. >> the obvious comparisons are to the spice girls, five, young, attractive women. do you have any nicknames we should know about? >> little scary, especially in the morning. no, we've got our own nickname for each other but i'm sure we can't say them right now. >> so no public nicknames?

by the way, we should congr congratulate you, richelle, five months pregnant. you look fabulous. >> oh, thank you. >> what's it like on stage? >> i'm kind of -- i'm wearing the heels for the interview and performance, i'll change my shoes. >> fair enough. part of this u.s. roll out is the e! reality show. do you ever enjoy it or wish you had some private moments? >> when we first started out, we were a bit nervous, you know. it's hard to get used to for like the first couple of days and then you serious forget they're there. and everyone we work with is so nice. everyone at e! is so lovely. >> vanessa, they tell me that you are the young party girl. is that a fair assessment? >> well, this is what the girls are saying. i just like to have a good time. why not? >> definitely correct. >> what does that mean exactly? how is she the party girl? >> well, i used to join her back

in the day. and i've had a baby and all that, so -- but wrul see in the series that she takes me actually out here in new york and revisit our old days. >> we had a glorious time. >> it feels so great the next morning. >> yes. >> we can all relate to that. what's it been like for you? you mentioned you do have a young child at home. are you okay? >> my seat is like -- >> uncomfortable stool. >> i love that -- >> i know. >> has it been difficult to be away from the family when you're out on the road? >> difficult to be away from my husband because we were newlyweds basically when we headed over to l.a. and i did take my daughter, arabelle. his job takes had him away kind of a lot. we're kind of used to the distance. it sort of keeps us fresh, too.

you get that really excited feeling all the time. >> we can't go without asking you, we see a lot of focus on your dating life in the show. you went on a date with a certain red-headed prince perhaps? >> no. >> true story? >> no. it's not true. we have friends and friends in common, but it's a rumor that completely spiraled out of control. not true, no. the girls trying to set me up, though. >> with everyone. >> with a prince, preferably? >> we're trying to find a prince, but not a royal prince, just someone that can -- >> charming. >> there's still time. there's still time. molly, richelle, frankie, vanessa, uma, you'll be performing for us in the next hour. we look forward to that. >> yes. >> welcome to the united states. >> thank you. >> their new album comes out january 29th and "chasing the saturday" appears right there on e!

this morning in "today's" kitchen, five-minute fat blasting meals easy as one, two, three. registered dietician and blogger for "self" magazine. good morning to you, sarah. >> good morning, natalie. >> you'll show us how to prepare two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners all in under five minutes? >> exactly. super easy. we'll start with an omelette and mug. great way to eat your eggs on the go. one egg, whisk it up real quick like this. we'll add some things to bulk it up and add some flavor here. >> you just put spray in the mug? >> just cooking spray. cheese, color in there with the veggies and this will really make it more filling as well. >> carrots. >> uh-huh, carrots, broccoli. >> pour it right in there. stick it in the microwave. >> a minute and a half is all it takes. >> salt and pepper, salsa? >> grab it and go.

dieters who eat eggs for breakfast lose 60% more than dieters who don't. >> over here is pizza with peanut butter and apples made on a whole wheat shell. >> whole wheat tortilla. exactly. it will contain my mom's favorite foods. i have to mention that because her birthday was yesterday. >> happy birthday, mom. >> peanut butter contains healthy fat, sustained energy, wards off those mid-morning diet-wrecking munchies and the apples have fiber to help us fill up on pure calories. and i added a sprinkle of cinnamon. >> also a good antioxidant. >> exactly. >> over here, poe ttatoes for lunch. >> yes. >> potatoes have had a bad rap over recent years. >> they have. >> they're a good dieters food. >> yes researchers suggest it may help promote the burning and shrinking of fat cells. what we put on the potato is

important, too. >> all the difference in the world. >> italian style loaded baked potato. warm and cheesy, comforting. protein from the cottage cheese here and a little veggie with our marinara sauce, spinach. and all we're going to do is kind of mix that together here. we've already baked the potato in the microwave for about four minutes or so. and we just top it here. and then we're just going to actually sprinkle a little cheese and you can add a lily talian sauce. >> microwave that? >> another minute. that's all it takes. >> by the way, the sheetsa so good. is this salmon? >> this is salmon. use whatever you have, tuna in a can. women who eat fish two to four times a week have the lowest levels of body fat. this is a way to get the benefit without cooking it. >> chickpeas, sun dried

tomatoes. >> mix it all together. >> rotisserie chicken, right? >> yes. >> this is for dinner. this chicken and rice dish. >> mexican style. who doesn't crave mexican? >> healthy mexican, right? >> yes. the reason it's so good is the fiber. people who eat at least 34 grams of fiber per day absorb 6% of calories. a great way without even trying. over here, roast beef sandwiches. >> yes. >> it's very lean meat? >> it's delicious. and my secret ingredient, arugula to add veggies and color. fresh ground pepper, containing a compound that actually helps us to burn [ female announcer ] safeway presents

real big deals of the week. or why it doesn't have to be an adventure to stick to your new year's budget. because safeway gives you real big club card deals each week. right now, a case of arrowhead water is just $3.33. folgers is $7.99 for the large size. that's a huge deal. rise and shine. simply orange oj is just $2.88. real big deals this week and every week. only at safeway. ingredients for life. good morning everybody. it's 9:56. i'm marla tellez. this morning dreamliner flights into and out of san jose international airports are canceled this after japan grounded all of the dreamliners in the country after an emergency landing wednesday. a japanese network was on board the flight and shot video of the actual evacuation. here it is. there are reports that five

passengers had minor injuries. >> cold start to your wednesday. let's get a full look at the forecast with christina. >> hey, thanks. we have a good looking day. high pressure in control, offshore flow will bring our temperatures up above seasonal averages. i'm forecasting more 60s than 50s for today. hazy sunshine is a spare the air day and temperatures we're about 1 to 2 degrees more mild this morning. it's cold, grab your coat. peel it off later on today. 61 in gilroy, 61 in los gatos. we'll feel more mild temperatures overnight as of tonight into friday. temperatures will feel more comfortable especially into the weekend. 68 degrees on saturday. 67 degrees on sunday. and some beach cities we're expecting 70-plus degree weather over the weekend. let's check your drive. >> good morning. you know, we saw activity at least reported on my reports coming from here, the interchange between north 280 and 880 northbound as well. there is a disabled car just

behind some of the trees there and it's out of the lanes and i don't see slowing. look at the maps, we see slowing in the area north of there. still trickling out but these continue to recover for the northbound routes. 101 slow past the airport and again in mountain view but that's typical for the south bay. southbound 680 continues to recover after a dump truck had taken a while to clear. slow approaching the dublin interchange for west 580. south 880 starting to thin. we have heavier traffic through fremont. >> thanks so much. we'll be back and see you at 10:26.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. how bad is theews today? it's a winless wednesday, and it's rainy and nasty outside. >> and cold! >> the good news is, hoda's book is doing really, really well. you're going across today, right? >> at 11:00, right after the show. we wish we had wine for you, but if you really look at what's happening to our wine cellar, it is overflowing with goodies, because people are sending us vino and we can't drink it. so jerry's bored. he's got nothing to do. >> nice, jerry!

>> that's not even nice. >> nice. >> this, as you know, we're on this no drinking challenge. >> "ladies home journal" put us up to it. >> at my book signing, that's what people wanted to talk about, not the book. >> they haven't read the book yet. >> hey, about your book, but why aren't you drinking? >> we're trying to get fit! so far it's not working. even wine futures are down. >> see what happened? that's sad. >> i think we need to make it up for the wine industry, take our show on location to napa valley or sonoma valley. >> my favorite thing is when you announce something on air and we have to do it. >> you have another one tonight, right? >> one at huntington tonight, now jimmy kimmel apparently did not get the memo that we are not drinking wine through the end of the month. but anyway, let's take a listen.

>> seems like a man thing, but it's called the vapor-tini. it allows you to inhale alcohol. you pour alcohol on the bottom and you heat it up, inhale the vapor, and the alcohol goes directly into your bloodstream. it's like a reverse breathalyzer. that's quite an idea. dude, what if you could smoke beer? inhaling alcohol is dangerous. you get a lot drunker a lot faster, and if you get too drunk, it can look something like this. [ laughter ] >> terrifying. so be careful. >> that's my old friend jimmy kimmel. i will find you and hurt you. >> we did try that thing. >> we did that a couple of months ago. >> i liked it. you don't feel like you're getting the calories, but you're still getting the -- right? >> apparently, you want something else as well. >> you were on something else.

it's called "the new normal" on nbc that has nene. you know that one? >> won't invite us on, but will have their way with us. >> let's hear what they have to say. >> families look different now. no matter what their gender, all that matters is being lucky enough to have a partner to count on, an ally to always have your back. they are the strength to your weaknesses. the yin to your yang. the kathie lee to your hoda. >> that one i like. >> how sweet was that? >> you know what, we are actually today going to be talking about our girlfriends, the new husbands. >> by the way, that's a really interesting topic. a lot of friends and i have had this discussion. guys are funny about things. i remember back in the day when i was married, men are problem solvers. if you come in complaining at work, this is what this girl did to me, i was so upset, what did

you say to her? nothing. well, say something to her tomorrow and the problem is solved. yeah, but i'm not done discussing it. so i want to let it breathe, and he wants -- >> you want to live there for a while. >> he wants to fix it. then you stop, let me call my friend so i can complain about that and i'll get him to change the lightbulb. >> then if you're married long enough, you get to the point he doesn't want to fix anything. hire somebody, call somebody. you do it, i'm going to sit here and be me. >> a lot of people do rely on their girlfriends and it's a the first call. >> here's the sad reality, everybody. i say this from almost 27 years, and i love my husband, so let's keep that in mind. once you know somebody really, really well, that changes. >> what do you mean, all the dirty details? >> when you don't know somebody,

you're in a slinky this -- after a while, you become very, very content with one another. that's a good thing to get to that point, it really is. >> you're right. >> i thought you were sipping wine. that was going to make me crazy. anyway, yeah, you know what i'm saying. >> it is true. >> your girlfriends don't live with you. your best girlfriends, even if they lived with you, would drive you crazy. >> you're right, you're right. >> i adore you, but if you left all those doors open at my house and threw your jeans -- oh! i'd be at your throat. >> right now, again, with my cabinets open, it's so weird how i don't notice. i duck under. i don't even notice. i move things away, throw things away. i do. you get used to it. you're right, i'd drive you out of your gourd. >> that's why you call your girlfriend, you don't live with

her. >> everyone you live with, you know all their secrets and they are not as terrific. >> let's be honest, okay. the big gun control debate caught fire in another way. the nra came out with an ad that's really touched a lot of nerves. again, we're talking about whether or not teachers or security guards or somebody in schools should be armed. a lot of people, this is a controversial ad. take a look. >> the president's kids more important than yours? then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in schools, which his kids are protected by armed guards at their school. mr. obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes, but he's a hypocrite when it comes to fair share to security. protection for his kids and gun-free zones for ours. >> so the debate is that going

too far? it's one thing to have your feelings about the second amendment and what that actually means, and it's another thing to drag the president's children into the debate. >> clearly, the president's kids are always a bigger target. i still don't understand why there can't be a debate about a way we can still have weapons that are reasonable -- it shouldn't be about no guns or uzies. there's always talk about the slippery slope if you take away the uzie or ak, i know i'm not saying the right terms -- >> assault rifles and machine aga guns. >> i don't really get that at all. >> it's a huge debate. i believe in our constitution, i'm a huge constitutionalist, but when those laws were written, it was one bullet and

we could never have foreseen uzi machine guns in the hands of crazy people that want to massacre your children. i'm very much for the strict background checks. i hope that they could actually work. it's going to add to the price. they can't do the background checks now. i'm all for enforcing laws we already have on the books before we start writing a million more laws. however, i think rational people feel like they don't want any crazy person to have a machine gun with 30 bullets -- >> i do think if you made the penalty for a crime using the guns, if you tripled the penalty, that would have to have some kind of impact on whether or not even criminals choose to use that type of a weapon. if you really were serious about it and i don't care, it's a different penalty if you use a gun or this type of crazy gun. >> maybe it's a lot of all of the above we really should be looking at.

i'm telling you, if i were a parent at sandy hook who'd lost their child, i would have wanted somebody at that door that could have stopped that killer. >> you would hope that person could have, but then you saw a lot of parents who had a news conference who said all they wanted to talk about was getting those guns -- you know, working on gun control. >> as you say, has to be a balanced approach. everybody's rights need to be preserved. you got to remember, there's a huge amount of money to be made in ammunition, arms, magazines. huge, huge, huge. basically, at the end of the day, it's all about money. they want to make it a constitutional thing, but there's a way to live within our constitution and protect our values and our rights, but at the same time -- >> i agree, i agree. >> send all your nasty e-mails to her, because i don't read them. guess who's going to be a grandpa. >> i'm in an e-mail-free zone.

>> guess who is a grandpa, charlie sheen. who knew he had a daughter that was 28? did everybody know? >> can you back up? girlfriend's 24, but he has a daughter who's 28 that's expecting a baby. >> it's his girlfriend's daughter who's -- wait a minute. that doesn't make sense. >> it's his daughter. >> i thought he had a daughter from when he was 17 years old. >> it was written funky. >> his girlfriend's 24 and his daughter's 28. >> his daughter is the one that -- it didn't say it that way. never mind. expected mom is cassandra, his high school child. >> you don't picture him as a grandpa. >> i don't think he pictures himself as one either. do you think charlie sheen will ever change? >> i don't know if people ever change.

>> i know people who have changed enormously through life, but usually when they've had an epiphany or something like that. >> i don't know. he was on fallon last night and yucking it up about who's going to be the one to wear the bib. he was laughing about it. >> how about somebody wearing the -- instead. >> oh, that. >> indeed. >> it's just a thought. if we could solve our problems with guns, perhaps we could solve our problems otherwise. >> i think you're right. speaking of jimmy fallon. i'm so excited. >> nobody's more important than hoda woman. >> except sara haines. hi, sara. >> i can't believe you're going to be on jimmy fallon. he's the best, he's a real guy, but he cracks me up every time he opens his mouth. >> he's like the new regis, in a sense. regis always had a sense of wonder, can you believe i'm here and i get to do this and i'm standing here with george

clooney? jimmy makes you feel that. let's talk about hoda's book. >> we appreciate everyone posting on our facebook wall, so keep chatting with us, because we're going to pick five people at random to send a signed book. >> i'm ready to sign! i got it, girl. >> books, the hard part is not writing them. the hard part is getting out there that first week and selling them. >> you got it, baby. you got your girl, who needs a man, right? >> are girlfriends the new husbands? perks and pitfalls right after this. ped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression

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she's had your back through boyfriends, breakups, and all those ridiculous diets you've been on, we're talking about your best girlfriend. >> since women are waiting to get married, if at all, friends are becoming more important than ever, so are girlfriends replacing husbands? editor and chief of "marie claire."

>> and ladies, nice to see you both again in the new year. >> thanks for having us. >> this is an interesting topic, isn't it? >> as we were thinking about, i tried to realize why this might be so. does this have to do with the fact women are waiting later and later? i think the average age is 27 now to get married for a first-time bride. >> there is an unprecedented number of single women between the ages of 25 and 34 in the country now, and almost half believe the institution of marriage is obsolete. >> that worries me about our culture going forward. should it? >> even the ones who are looking forward to getting married, they are going through bigger life decisions with their girlfriends. >> is it that men are problem solvers? because they like to fix. i get it, they don't want to hear you rattle on and on and on about your problems. >> you've really hit the nail on the head, hoda. what we don't really reward in our society is an em pathetic

response. and men get rewarded for that all the time in our society, and they are much more oriented to do that, where women are much more oriented to be empathetic, have much more compassion in the interaction and that's what most women are looking for. >> are we also looking for both? sometimes hoda will have a situation or i'll have a situation and she wants me to talk about it and we come up with a solution together. >> you come to a solution. >> you're my husband! >> of course, i am. >> you come to a solution, because you understand you're heard and you understand the person has exactly the feeling that you have of how you might be best at solving this problem. >> you get it. >> that makes you want to go forward with that person. >> is it a danger for your relationship? if you're married and you call your girlfriends when you have news and it sort of leaves him out of the loop.

isn't it debtmetrimentdetriment? >> go to your girlfriends for some things. the thing about marriage, it's a legal contract. he's legally bound to be there in the morning. >> they leave a lot of times. >> your girlfriends, you may have a spat and it could take a week or month or sometimes a year to make up. >> is it really about ultimately listening? somebody -- because we are such a nation of -- but we don't really listen to one another. >> it is about listening and empathetic listening. it's also about reduction of stress. i think it's important to recognize when we are with our girlfriends, our stress usually reduces. there's unbelievable research that shows that women not only want to tend and befriend, but also that we feel better and we want to be nurtured and nurturing. so our blood pressure goes down, our cholesterol goes down, our health improves, and if we don't

have our girlfriends and don't have those connections, we really are more at risk healthwise. i think the other issue, though, is -- and i appreciate what anne said, we tell our friends some things, girlfriends other things, when you're telling something to your girlfriends that might be embarrassing or not kind to your husband, you have to appreciate there's someone else you're bound to. >> guys get together for the same reason? do they talk to their guy friends? >> no, they head butt and watch games. >> thank you, ladies. >> thank you so much. all right, you sent them in. >> we picked the best. >> all those photos that made you say what the what coming up right after this. [ female announcer ] born from the naturally sweet monk fruit, something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar.

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but add some sauce, pepperoni and cheese and fold up the crescent dough...and presto! tuesday night just became crescent pizza pocket-tastic pillsbury crescents. let the making begin the affordable care act meanses big changes this year...ected. pillsbury crescents. when you file your taxes. i read the whole 900 pages. it literally took me weeks. i will give you a tax and health care review. i know the law. i have the solution... and i can help you figure it out. we're going to see this through together. it is winless wednesday, and you know what that means? >> oh, my gosh, we're going to look at all those fabulous photos that made you do a double

take. >> you guys are going to be in even better mood than normal. throw a courtesy in there. first photo is from stephanie walton from virginia. ice cream owner diagnosed lactose intolerant, business for sale. enough said. it didn't work out for him. hoda, you can't own that either. >> i don't want it. >> andrea ventura from jacksonville beach, florida, submitted this photo. are you really going to be in there long enough that you need a satellite tv? >> you need wifi, don't you? >> that's disgusting. i have a portapotty fear. >> is that an illusion? >> that's legit. they were driving by on the highway and took a picture. can you imagine? >> times are hard, there could be somebody living in there. they are called squatters. >> photo from marsha edgarton from virginia. was this a big enough issue?

do not warm up -- never attempt to dry a pet in the oven. >> oh, please. >> are you kidding me? >> that was in a manual for a new oven. >> people are cooking their pets. >> seriously crazy. >> please, don't. >> from new york, danica webb sent us this photo. have you seen this cat? you may have seen one that looks like this, but have you seen this one? >> i actually saw that cat and it was wearing a party hat like that one. >> those are ears. >> looks like a party hat to me. >> we're going to show a photo each week and if you log on to klgandhoda.com, give us your best caption and we may pick yours. let's show the photo. >> oh! >> got milk? >> tell us what you have to say. >> that is the cutest. >> where's my dog? >> buffy. bye-bye to buffy.

our fitness challenge, it's a big deal with joy right after this. oh, i had a knot in my chest. i didn't really want her to go but...i knew she could do it. i felt like there were bigger and better things for me to do. [ mom ] she took what she was doing seriously. [ hosmer ] my self-confidence just went through the roof. [ dad ] it was awesome to see her transform from a girl, in a small town, to a soldier. [ male announcer ] you made them strong. we'll make them army strong. talk to your son or daughter about joining the army. find out how at goarmy.com/parents. ricdon't forget about that upr in smootpayroll meeting..my. rolo.get your smooth on. also in minis. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ]

that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. good morning to you. i'm marla tellez. the tech industry is booming in san francisco, the city is considering a local hiring mandate for companies. right now businesses only have to show that they are making an effort to hire locals. but a limited number of -- rather for a number ever entry level jobs. the idea follows the success of a similar local hire law for

city funded construction projects. after the break a look at the forecast and the roads.

>> welcome back. the time is 10:28. this is actually san francisco. a little hazy. we have a spare the air alert in place for today likely seeing one tomorrow as well. highs are going to be comfortable. 58 in san francisco, 61 gilroy, and 57 degrees in livermore. we keep on climbing through the

weekend. the full forecast at 11:00. let's check your drive. hey, mike. >> look at this. the bay bridge toll plaza. no backup. it's a normal day on the approach over there. that doesn't mean it's clear but it's a normal day getting there and across to the city. let's show you where things are tougher and still are for northbound 101 through mountain view. we had a crash in lanes that's cleared to the shoulder. the backup was tough in the area. we had westbound 237 plagued with accidents, so this has been a tough day through the area. the rest of the south bay starting to clear. 880 clearing but now eastbound 580 toward the dublin interchange slow because we got reports that there is a large pot hole three feet or more across there at the connector. that's causing folks to slow, get around it. have to do emergency repair work so we're tracking that. >> thanks so much. we'll have more on the stories coming up in 30 minutes.

back with more of "today" on this winless wednesday, and i'm wining about it. we're kicking off our new series en-joy getting fit. we selected six lucky ladies to compete over the next eight weeks. >> better them than us. >> kathie lee and i will each have our own team, that means it's a competition. which ever team conquers the most competitions over the next couple weeks will be declared the winners. to help us, is "today" nutritionist and our emcee. >> i've never seen her so excited. >> i am so excited. we're going to help -- >> how did you find the six? >> we had thousands of people. we did a call out on facebook, on twitter. it was a really tough thing trying to pick. we wanted to help everyone, but

the good news it, all their meal plans and challenges they are going to be doing are going to be on your website, klgandhoda.com. so everybody at home can follow along. >> i can't wait to meet your team. >> first team, heidi callahan, hi, heidi. we're going to listen to her story first. >> my name is heidi callahan, 37 years old, and i'm from new york. i've been married nine years. i have triplet boys who turned seven yesterday. they were born at 27 weeks. they were about two pounds each. adan, brady, and chase. my son chase has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. he's a sunshine, a light, a beautiful boy who's always smiling, and they keep me busy. i wrote in because it's been seven years i've been carrying about an extra 30 pounds since the boys were born. a lot of it, i remember them being in the nicu, my husband

and i would get a pizza and i would eat as much as him, a lot was stress eating, emotional eating, looking at food when things get crazy. it's a habit that's hard to break. >> we all know about that. >> how cute is she? >> brave heidi is going to stand on the scale now. everybody's going to be in the same situation. >> i've lost my mind. >> you can do it, girl. >> welcome to our world. heidi weighs -- 182. >> right behind you, 184. >> we'll go with the thing in the back. >> it's the shoes, it's the shoes. >> can i tell you something? >> you look good. i'm sorry, you look really good. >> i do work out. >> i can tell. >> so the next lady we have is kathy gilbert. let's listen to her story. >> my name is kathy gilbert, i'm

48. i live in new york. i'm married, i have one child. my mom was diagnosed with dementia, and it was emotionally really draining on all of us, and i found comfort in food. i love to eat. i love to cook. i love to eat. i love to read about food. i love to be around food. i love to see food, and that's a problem. i'm very unhappy with my weight, and i feel like since 42 my body has started to change, and i think it's a lot to do with hormones, so what i used to do to lose weight doesn't work anymore. this is a whole lifestyle change for me. it's going to be hard, but i'm excited. >> a lot of women can relate to you, kathy. so come on over here. >> come on, girl! >> this is the first step to changing all this, girl. >> hold my bracelet. >> take off the jewelry at least, right? >> pop up right behind you --

>> 168. >> okay. all righty. >> all right. not too bad. >> our final lady is zakia prince. let's hear her story. >> hi, my name is zakia prince. i am 28 years old, and i'm from brooklyn, new york city. i'm single. my son, he's 2 years old. his name is caleb. i'm a stay at home mom. i'd like to return to school and finish my degree. the hardest part about being a single mom is not having me time and enjoying just me and not having to necessarily, you know, do the baby talk all the time. i've always been, like, the bigger person that was athletic, so i had got to like my highest, you know, which was about 300, little bit over 300. i just like, okay, i'm not feeling this right now. so i'm hoping to get more

information, lose weight, and be more successful. >> all right. zakia, bring it over, baby. >> that little boy's so cute. >> thank you. >> all right, zakia's weight is at -- >> 235. >> we're going down! >> so there's team kathie lee. >> my team's coming up next. we're going to meet them in a minute and have a performance by the latest british invasion. they are called the saturdays. >> i haven't seen people excited in a long time about the saturdays. these mr. clean guys, they're like a clean team.

did you see mr. clean disinfecting bath cleaner killing that bacteria yesterday, just flaunting it? and did you see the magic eraser clean up that crazy kitchen mess? it was like super dirty, super clean. how? wish i hadn't. [ sniffs ] what's that amazing smell? it's mr. clean with the amazing scent of gain. wow! you know, if i had a team, you'd be on it. [ gasps ] our mascot could be a cleanosarus rex. you're off the team. [ male announcer ] dirt and grime have nowhere to hide with the mr. clean clean team on your side. [ male announcer ] dirt and grime have nowhere to hide and add a packet of hidden valley original ranch. it becomes the first thing they reach for.

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made the right way for that big bold kick. grab the southwest by the bottle. a deep, throbbing, persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better

now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. we're back with our new series, the eight-week series we're calli en-joy. six ladies compete in health and fitness challenges. we met kathie lee. >> they are awesome! >> they are awesome. now it's time to introduce the other team, my team. hey, ladies, how are you? >> i have to tell you the funniest thing, i asked the one thing you do not want to make me eat, my husband, my arm, or my daughter. >> going to be trouble, i'm telling you now. again, mindi, let's listen to her story. >> my name is mindi millerburg, and i'm 49 and live in mont claire, new jersey. i am married. i have a son, he's 15, and my

daughter is 13. my sister is concerned about this lump under her arm. unbelievably, it wasn't breast cancer, and when you don't know what kind of cancer something is, you can't really treat it, because there's no protocol. we went through that for a good year and a half, i would say, then she lost her battle. my mom wasn't feeling well. she was diagnosed with something called mds, and that's the precursor to leukemia. again, it was just sort of a waiting game and nursing her to the end. then there was my dad. he just deteriorated, you know? at the end he basically didn't recover from an infection. i just want to kick start a more productive, healthy lifestyle again. i want to focus on being the best person i can be. >> mindi, you're such an optimist. before that, when you walked in,

you're just like a ray of sunshine. >> thank you. i got that from my mother, by the way. >> come on, girl, i hope you get your courage from your mother, too. get on this scale. you know you can do it. are you ready? >> i heard the graphics also put ten pounds on you. on tv. >> all right, let's see. namaste. 198, girl. >> below 200! >> why am i rooting for her? >> because you kind of are. >> i like her. >> the next lovely lady is jessica. let's listen to jessica's story. >> my name is jessica. i am 24 years old and i'm from arizona. i am married. we've been married for six years. we have two kids. david is 5 and michael is 19 months. my youngest one has a medical condition. it was, you know, a flattening of the skull in a certain place,

and he had to wear a specialized helmet that was made for him to reshape it. he wore the helmet, it helped him a lot, and he's a fiery little 19-month-old that runs around and gets into everything he can. my husband has been in the marine corps for almost eight years. i've struggled with my weight, up and down, especially since i've had kids. it's not easy to drop all the pounds when you're, you know, juggling military life and you're juggling kids. there's a lot of military spouses out there, so i feel like it would be, you know, nice to have one of our military spouses represented. >> that's sweet. jessica, you're sweet. we have such a great crosssection of ladies. >> why don't you get over here and get on the scales. you ready? you got it, girl. you got it. 206! >> this is the beginning point. >> that's the hardest step to take, that one. >> you got your baseball on you?

rooting for the right team. our last girl -- that old thing? anyway, yolana. let's listen to her story. >> my name is yolana. i'm 35 years old, and i'm from long island. i'm married. i have two children. my son is jaden. he's 9 years old, and my daughter is ava and she just turned 7. i always blame it on the children, but you can't blame it on them, because they are 9 and 7. we were affected by sandy. not tremendously, thank god, not like other families, but we did, we had our basement flood, couldn't get a hot water heater, and i just literally let myself go. we were going out to eat every day, you know, just whatever doesn't need to be refrigerated, so we were eating chips and bread, then i went on a trip right away.

i was overseas for three weeks eating fried rice and noodles. i'm always on some sort of diet. i'll have no carbs for a week, two weeks, then the third week i'm eating an entire bread basket. not just a piece, the entire basket. i'm hoping to learn a new way of life, and in the process get a hot new body. >> yelena, i feel you. >> hot new body, here we come. >> all right, you ready? >> i am. >> climb aboard. >> last one, here we go. >> get on the train. 145. good girl. all righty. >> we're going to bring out kathie lee's team, too. >> team kathie lee! >> good job. all the info and advice and stuff is going to be on the website? >> everything's on the website. and each week we're going to be adding more options to the website, klgandhoda.com. >> we can't wait. thanks so much. they are called the

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the toyota concert series on "today" brought to you by toyota. >> the saturdays are already household names across the pond in the uk with 11 top ten singles, three top ten albums, and millions of records already sold. >> they also have more than 3 million followers on twitter and more than 67 youtube hits. now it's time to expand their fan base with a new reality show called "chasing the saturdays." take a look. >> the secrets are worth it. >> i'm not going back home. >> i feel like a bad mother. >> you feel like you're drowning. >> i looked over and knew something was wrong with her. she was having a panic attack.

>> you've got a great form. >> i feel like he could be the one. >> after one date? >> it's going to numb the pain in my head. >> the kardashians must be very, very upset. they are the saturdays! so nice to meet you all. we've been talking about one of you dated prince harry at least once. please raise your hand so we can look at you. >> nobody did. >> is that just a rumor? it was about you, right? >> it was about me, but no, we're just friends. >> you're friends. allegedly. >> one of you is with child, and that is you. >> congratulations. how did you guys get to know each other as a group? >> we've been together for five and a half years now. we got together originally through auditions. >> you two ladies were in a band together earlier. >> we were. >> i don't understand what took five years to get you over here.

>> come to america. >> we're going to listen to you sing. what are you going to perform? >> our single "what about us," which is out now. ♪ oh why are we waiting so long ♪ ♪ i'm suffocating ♪ boy it's now or never ♪ time we got together ♪ been a long time coming ♪ i like the way you tease me ♪ but let's make this easy ♪ put me in control ♪ we can switch roles ♪ and i take the lead ♪ you're so far behind me ♪ you know what i need ♪ i'm not going to stop ♪ whatever the weather

♪ we going to be better together ♪ ♪ what about us ♪ what you doing to my head ♪ should be here with me instead ♪ ♪ what about those words you said ♪ ♪ what about us? ♪ oh why we are waiting so long ♪ ♪ i'm suffocating ♪ oh why we are waiting so long i'm suffocating ♪ ♪ i love to hear you whisper ♪ take it lower ♪ don't be afraid to show her what you freaking do ♪ ♪ we can do it nightly ♪ you get me excited ♪ now it's my turn ♪ yes it's my turn ♪ give it to me ♪ why are we waiting ♪ i know what you need and i'm not going to stop ♪ ♪ whatever the weather we're going to be better together ♪ ♪ so it's okay

♪ what about us ♪ watching and waiting ♪ what about us ♪ what you doing to my head ♪ you'll be here with me instead ♪ ♪ what about those words you said ♪ ♪ what about us ♪ what about us ♪ baby what about us ♪ what about us ♪ what about us ♪ whatever the weather we going to be better together ♪ ♪ it's us baby what about us ♪ i've been watching and waiting ♪ ♪ why don't you give it a chance ♪ ♪ what about us ♪ what you doing to my head

♪ you should be here with me instead ♪ ♪ what about those words you said ♪ ♪ what about us ♪ what about us ♪ let me take the lead ♪ you know what i need ♪ tell me what about us ♪ what about us ♪ >> the saturdays have arrived! >> new cd comes out january 29th and "chasing the saturdays" is on e! >> we'll be back with more of "today." [ female announcer ] safeway presents

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tomorrow, he played charlie, monte is going to be

if americans of every background stand up and say enough, we've suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue, then change will come. >> keeping children safe. that was the overwhelming theme today as president obama unveiled new policies aimed at reducing gun violence. good morning and thank you for being with us. i'm marla tellez. >> i'm jon kelley. good morning everybody. president obama initiating the most ambitious gun control program in decades. his announcement today comes in response to the sandy hook shooting massacre just one month ago. danielle lee is in washington, d.c. with more on the political show that's already under way. >> reporter: president obama announced sweepg